Two Worlds Collide
by Destany Mitchell
Summary: Takes place during Jude's third album. Jude begins to have more feelings towards Tommy and as she's trying to work that out, she's dealing with a stalker. Better summary inside. Give it a chance. TJ Rating will possibly go up.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **I have been working on this story for a few weeks now. I hope you all give it a shot. There's of course, going to be some Tommy and Jude romance later in the story and loads of Drama. I can't give a full summary inside, but I hope you gave it a chance…

**Summary: **After releasing her 2nd album, Tommy announces he is leaving G Major. Jude is gave a new producer and things are not going well. Georgia offers Tommy his job back and things get crazy from there. Jude gets a stalker, and feelings she thought she had for Tommy where over and done with begin to resurface. It's all a this and much more for this instant star.

**Prologue**

"Jude?" Tommy said, into the microphone after Jude completed recording her last song for her second album, not completely believing that he was really going to do this.

"Yeah Tommy?" Jude asked a big smile on her face.

"I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Oh, OK." She said, setting her guitar down on the bench and stepping around into the main part of the studio. She studied him a moment before taking an empty seat next to him. "What's up?" She asked.

"Jude…I…" He paused. How do I do this? He wondered. "I've been offered another band to produce."

"Who? That's great Tommy!"

"Jude, it's a new and upcoming band, I'm going to be working for Flava Records." Jude stared at him blankly. Flava? Isn't that in…?

"But that's in L.A.!" Jude said, feeling her heart sink.

"I know." Tommy said, looking solemn.

"But you're my producer…"

"Jude"

"No! How can you do this to me! I need you Tommy!"

"No Jude, you don't. You've never needed me. You're a natural talent."

"But you've made me better! Tommy, what am I going to do without you?" She asked.

"Jude, you can still contact me. I'll always be your friend, but I can't stay your producer." He paused and sighed. "This offer opens up a lot of opportunities for me. It was an offer I couldn't refuse." Jude was silent. She could feel her heart breaking, but she was determined not to cry. Not now, not before him. She turned away so she could compose herself, but she knew it wouldn't be much use.

"Jude?" She looked up into his eyes, tears were threatening to form and fall down her face. "I'm sorry."

"I understand." She said, smiling sadly. "When do you leave?" She forced herself to ask. I can't believe he's leaving. After all that we've done, after all that we've gone through, he's just going to leave me and go off and produce another band and never think about me again.

"In a couple of weeks; after the album is released." Jude nodded.

They sat there in silence, not knowing what else to say and what needed to be said was left unsaid.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

18 months later

Georgia stepped out of Studio A, rubbing her temples. She was no happy. Jude's new album was not coming along well. Jude was writing some great songs, but she kept fighting with her new producer, Mark Snow, over how the melodies should be. Needless to say, they rarely got anything accomplished and when they did, it wasn't making Jude happy and it affected the lyrics badly.

Georgia sighed and walked to her office. She pulled her Rolex out of her desk drawer and spun it until it landed on the card she was looking for. She pulled it out and picked up the phone. She held the handset against her shoulder and dialed the number off of a business card rapidly. She set the card down when the phone began to ring and she drummed her fingers on her desk, anxiously waiting for an answer.

"Hello?" A male voice answered.

"I need to meet with you." Georgia stated.

** Two weeks later **

Georgia stepped off her plane and walked purposely through the airport. She had a meeting to attend in 15 minutes and she was determined not to be late. She managed to slip her way out of the crowded airport entrance where loved ones where waiting to pick up their significant others.

When she was outside, she raised her hand to signal a taxi. Moments later a yellow taxi sped to a stop beside her. She entered the car and told the driver her destination and he drove off.

About 20 minutes later, the cab stopped in front of a small diner located in the outskirts of Los Angeles, California. She paid the driver his fee and stepped out and walked into the diner, a bell ringing as the door opened.

She quickly scanned the diner and saw who she was looking for without much effort. Tommy Quincy always seemed to have a way of drawing attention onto himself. He walked around with his own personal spotlight and people noticed it.

Georgia crossed the room and sat down across from him. Tommy signaled their waitress and she came over before Georgia could say two words to him.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Yes, a Diet Coke would be fine." The waitress nodded and walked off.

"Sorry I'm late." Tommy just shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

"What do you need Georgia?" Tommy asked, looking concerned.

"I want you." Georgia stated. Tommy looked confused and he was silently glad he had completely swallowed his coffee.

"Excuse me?"

"I'll give it to you straight. You're the best damn producer there is, and G Major has been suffering without you on its team."

Before Tommy could say anything, the waitress returned with Georgia's drink. She took a glance at Tommy and Georgia thanked her. It seemed to snap the girl back to attention and she left the table, nearly running into a businessman. Georgia shook her head and took a drink of her drink.

"Flattery Georgia? Didn't know you had it in you." Tommy said.

"Look, Tommy, whatever they're paying you here, I'll raise you 10."

"Georgia, you know I'd be more than happy to help you out…"

"But?"

"But I don't know if I want to return to G Major. I've got a good thing going here." Georgia was silent. She didn't want to stoop low, but she knew how to get his attention. It was what held his attention at G Major for so long anyway. They both knew it.

"Jude's album."

"What about it?" Tommy asked, looking interested.

"It sucks. Mark and Jude have too many creative differences to make it work."

"You have _Snow_ producing Jude?" Tommy demanded, looking disgusted.

"He's the best _I _have." Tommy was silent. Georgia knew Mark and Tommy never got along. She knew she was playing with fire by mentioning Jude, but she was desperate.

"Look, Georgia, you know I would have to finish up what I'm doing here first."

"Of course."

"And even then…"

"Look, Tommy, I understand it would probably be a couple of months until you could return, if you accept my offer."

"20."

"What?"

"I want 20." Tommy stated. Georgia narrowed her eyes.

"You drive a hard bargain." Tommy grinned. "Deal."

"Then I'll do it." Georgia smiled. "If Jude is ok with me coming back." Georgia's face fell into a frown. She knew Jude had mixed feelings over Tommy leaving. She wasn't completely sure if the girl would jump to have him back again.

"I'll talk to her."

"No, let me do it."

"OK. I'll look forward to your call then." Georgia said with a slight nod and took another drink of her pop. Tommy sighed.

"Enough with business. How have _you_ been Tommy?"

"I'm doing good, the band's doing well and I'm happy with it." Tommy answered. "How've you been doing?"

"Besides stressing over Jude's lack of a hit? I'm doing ok. G Major is doing well. I would have no complaints if the first would be fixed."

"Guilt trip?"

"Is it working?"

"Maybe a little." Tommy glanced at his watch. "Sorry, but I've got to run. Do you need a ride to the airport or"

"I'll be fine Tommy. Thanks for the offer." Georgia said. He nodded and pulled out his wallet and set a 10 down on the table. "For the drinks." He stated.

"No, I should be buying, I called you"

"Georgia don't, I won't take it back anyway. I'll call you once I talk to Jude." He said, and left the diner. Georgia watched him and noted that he still drove that blue viper. She finished her drink and left Tommy's ten on the table to cover the bill and the tip and stepped outside in the warm L.A. air.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **WOW! I am utterly shocked over the amount of reviews I got on day one! This is great! I love you guys:D Thank you to all who reviewed, I'm looking forward to seeing the next set of reviews. To those who didn't review…well, I wish you would, but I hope you enjoyed too. :D Onto the story! Whoot whoot!

**Chapter 2**

"Arg! I can't believe him!" Jude said, sounding angry.

"What happened now?" Kat asked.

"Mark, he's such a jerk! I write this great song, even the music for it, and he says it's too rock! Hello! I'm a rocker!" Jude collapsed on the couch next to Kat and sighed in frustration.

"Can't you fire him?" Kat asked.

"I wish I could. Eeerrr! I wish Tommy never left! I wouldn't be having this problem." Jude pouted, and looked even more annoyed.

"Jude, you know he had to do what was good for him."

"I know, but I just…" She sighed. "I just wanted to say to him, 'what about me?' And then I feel like I'm some cast-away ex girlfriend and we never did anything but kiss and he told me to forget it ever happened!"

"Didn't you say you guys kept in touch?" Kat asked, looking sympathetically at her friend.

"Yeah, an email like once a month. We're both so busy that nothing ever really gets said in them."

"I'm sure it'll all work out in the end Jude." Kat said.

"Yeah, I just with Mark wouldn't be such an ass!" Kat smiled.

"OK, enough about Mark the worst producer that ever walked the face of the earth how are you and Jamie?"

"We're good. I love him Jude." Jude smiled. Kat and Jamie fought about her a couple of years back. Kat was jealous about the time she and Jamie spent together and Jude though that she might love him; but ended up realizing that there was nothing between them but years of best friendship.

"Oh, I gatta go. Jamie is taking me out tonight."

"Have fun."

"You should come." Kat offered.

"And be the third wheel? No offence, but I'll pass. Thanks for the offer though."

"Come on, you can come and scope out some good looking guys. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone there."

I don't want to meet someone else. Jude thought.

"No, go have fun without me. I have a new song I want to work on."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"OK, talk to ya later?"

"Yup."

"Bye!" Both girls said and Kat left and Jude sighed. She picked up her warn notebook and began to write:

Why did you leave me?

It was so perfect

And then like a flash

You were gone.

Don't you realize I needed you?

Still need you

More than words can express?

Come back to me,

Let's fix this mess we're in.

Why did you have to go?

Why did you have to leave me broken and alone?

Did you think I could continue without you?

Didn't you know that?

Didn't you know that?

I love you?

I need you?

I want you?

More than words can express.

Jude looked at her words on paper and felt tears sting her eyes. She ripped the paper out of the notebook and crumpled it up and tossed it in the general direction of the trash. Her phone rang and she jumped slightly. She glanced at the screen and did not recognize the number. With a frown she picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Jude?"

Jude gasped. She knew that voice. She would always know that voice. She was frozen. She didn't know what to do or what to say. Her hand began to tremble slightly.

"Jude, are you there?" The voice said again, louder and full of concern. Come on Jude, say something! She yelled mentally at herself.

"Yeah, I'm here." She breathed. Oh my word!

"Is this a bad time? I can call back later…"

"No, no, I was just…surprised." Jude said. Don't hang up Tommy, don't hang up. "What's up?" She asked.

"Look, I know I haven't kept in touch as much as I would have liked to"

"You've been busy."

"You could say that." Jude smiled, she missed hearing his voice, but she was remembering the hurt he caused her. "I'd rather do this in person; do you think we could arrange a meeting?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Jude said. Wait, he's in L.A., how would we…

"How about something in a week or two? That way I can make flight arrangements."

"Yeah, sure, when are you thinking?" Jude asked.

"How about next Thursday?"

"I have a show to do."

"It won't take long; it'll be like old times, right?" He said.

"Yeah, fine." Whatever. She added silently, starting to feel annoyed.

"OK, I'll let you know when I can get in and we can make arrangements to meet around you're day."

"Sounds good." She said.

"OK."

Silence.

"I should probably let you go. I'm sure you have to work on that album…"

"About that, do you think I could get you're opinion on a couple of songs?"

"I probably shouldn't, it would be unprofessional of me to criticize another producer's work."

"Tommy, you're a great song writer and I want your opinion as a friend, not as a former producer." Jude said, slightly bitter about the last part.

"What if you're friend is an ex-producer?"

"You know what I mean."

"Sure, bring the song or songs. I'll lend you my…creative genius for an afternoon." Tommy said, half jokingly. Jude smiled at the banter. "So I'll see you in about a week?"

"Yeah, it's a date." Jude said.

"Yeah…I'll see you in about a week." Tommy said. "Bye Jude."

"Bye Tommy." They both hung up. Jude stared at her phone a minute, digesting what was said. She pulled out her notebook and turned the page, writing frantically.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jude stood at her closet, mentally panicking. What do I wear? She wondered, pulling shirts, skirts, pants, and other clothing items out of her closet and tossing them onto the floor.

"Jude?"

Jude spun around and faced her sister.

"Arg! I don't know what to wear!" Jude said dramatically and backed away from the closet and collapsed dramatically onto her bed. Sadie looked at the clothes piled on the floor and back at Jude, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Since when do you care? You're only doing a gig tonight. You've done a million of them and never wondered what to wear before." Sadie pointed out. Jude bolted upright on her bed and stared at her sister.

"It's not just a gig. Tommy called last week; he wants to meet me before I go onstage."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and I have nothing to wear!" Sadie looked at her huge pile of clothes tossed around the room and the one's still left in her sisters' closet and sighed. "You have to help me Sadie!" Jude said, dashing back to her closet which was now only a quarter of the way full.

"Jude, Jude, Stop! Stop! Stop!" Sadie said, and Jude spun around to look at her sister, horrified. "This calls for some major shopping." She said, matter-of-factly. Jude looked at her closet and the clothes on her floor and to her sister.

"You think?" Sadie nodded knowingly.

"Let's go!" Jude said, stomping out of her room.

"Uh, Jude?"

"What!"

"You might want to change." Sadie pointed out. Jude glanced down at her attire, and almost shrieked. She was still wearing her bathrobe and was going to go out in public! She quickly dashed back to her room, throwing on the first pair of jeans and t-shirt she found and ran out of the house, Sadie walking calmly at her heels.

Tommy sat on the airplane in his comfortable first class seat. He had a pair of headphones on his head and was listening to a new track that his boss wanted him to try out called The Spillmens. He couldn't figure out what he did not like about the track, but the more he listened to it, the more he disliked it and the more he wanted to cast it aside and never think about it again. He sighed and switched the CD player off and slid the headphones down off his head and let them hang around his neck carelessly.

I have to take a break. He thought, closing his eyes and relaxing further into the chair.

"Oh! My! Word!" Someone screeched. A female someone. Tommy mistakenly opened his eyes, expecting to see someone in need of medical assistance and saw a pen and a napkin being shoved into his face. Tommy flinched away and looked over his shoulder and the 30 something year old blonde before him, practically hitting her head on the ceiling as she bounced up and down excitedly. "You're Tommy Q!" She screamed out.

Tommy resisted the urge to say, 'yes, I know that' but quickly bit his tongue. "No ma'am, I can assure you, I am not Tommy Quincy." He lied, sounding very collected.

"Oh, don't kid me! I know who you are!" She said, and turned around, motioning to one of her friends. "Susan! Isn't this little Tommy Q all growed up!" She demanded. Tommy again, had to squish the urge to correct the woman's grammar, but decided against it. He sighed.

The woman continued to shove the pen and napkin in his face. "You have to autograph this for me." She said.

"I don't have to do anything, Ma'am." Tommy answered, mentally slapping himself once he said so. Bad publicity, good going Tommy. He yelled at himself.

"Oh, but you must!" Tommy sighed and grabbed the pen and napkin and scribbled his name on it and handed it back, hoping she would leave him alone. He could only be so hopeful because as he handed her the napkin, she slid herself in his lap.

"Uh, miss?" Tommy said, trying not to touch her and move himself as far away as possible.

"Susan! Get the camera!" She wrapped her arms around Tommy's neck and tried to kiss him, but Tommy kept moving his head out of the way.

The blondes' friend, a sensible looking Brunette, came over with a camera, and looked apologetically at Tommy.

"Look, lady, I signed your napkin, now I would appreciate it if you would get off my lap." Tommy said, hoping he wouldn't have to dump her on the ground, or throw her into the aisle. He didn't want to injure the woman, but a man has to do what a man has to do.

"OH, one picture! Pretty please with sugar on top!" she asked, her lips pouty. Tommy was disgusted. This woman was older than he was, and she was acting like a love sick teenager.

"Snap that picture, and I will have my lawyers on your ass." Tommy snapped at the brunette. "Look lady, no picture, now leave me alone." He said.

"But, but" the woman began to get teary eyed. Oh god, please don't cry! Tommy thought, panicking slightly. The brunette took her friends hand and pulled her off of Tommy's lap.

"Come on Sarah; just leave the poor guy alone."

"But he doesn't want to be in a picture with me…"

"Honey, it's ok. You got your autograph, come on now…" The woman said, and the blonde in his lap, hugged him tighter. Tommy looked at the brunette, Susan, and looked at her, pleading with his eyes. Great, Tommy Q, begging another woman to get another woman off of me, what has the world come to? He wondered. Susan grabbed her friend and yanked hard, the grip Sarah had was surprisingly tighter and she practically choked Tommy as her friend pulled her off of him. Finally Sarah's hands broke free and Tommy stood up, not allowing that woman a chance at getting back in his lap. Susan dragged her friend away, with an apology to Tommy.

He shuddered once the girls were gone and he sat back down in his seat, feeling disgusted. Mental note: Next time I travel; drive myself, hire a driver, or use a private jet.

Jude jumped out of her sisters' car and ran into the house, shopping bag in hand. She slammed her door shut and quickly changed clothes. She got a new pair of black pants and a corset style shirt that was red with fishnet sleeves. She glanced in the mirror to see the full effect of the outfit and smiled to herself. She played a bit with her hair but ended up leaving the red locks down. She glanced at her clock and gasped at the time.

She dashed out of her room, grabbing her car keys and purse. She shouted a goodbye to her sister and drove off in her 2005 silver Honda Civic and drove out to meet Tommy.

Tommy and Jude had set up to meet at a 24-hour club located on 5th and Main Street. The place was usually busy, even during the middle of the afternoon, but the owner let Jude have a private room in the back when she came in. She parked out back and walked into the club, saying hello to some of the staff before asking the bartender if he had seen Tommy come in yet.

"Yeah, he got her about 5 minutes ago. He's waiting in the usual place."

"Thanks Mac." Jude said and ordered a Coke. He quickly poured her drink and she took it from him and headed to the back to meet Tommy. She began to feel slightly anxious as she got closer. Would he still like her? What did he want to tell her? Would they even still be friends? Would it be awkward?

She stopped short of the table and watched him a moment. She felt her breathe catch as she watched him. She felt all the emotions she had felt since she was 15 when she was with him. Admiration, love, friendship, and companionship. He still looked the same to her. Same old Tommy, just slightly older. He was looking at a file and still had not noticed her. She took a deep breathe and crossed over to him, sitting casually across from him.

"Hey." She greeted. He looked up, his green eyes studying her a moment.

"Hey." He said, closing his files and placing them aside. Probably songs he's working on. Jude thought, slightly bitterly.

He didn't hear her come up; he hadn't noticed her and it surprised him. He always seemed to notice her. Tommy had been engrossed with the songs he had gotten from Georgia earlier that day when Jude had shown up. His plane had landed early and he convinced Georgia at G Major to allow him to look over Jude's songs that she had completed with Marc. He had to admit, he liked the lyrics, but the melodies…they just didn't fit. His eyes couldn't help but study Jude. She looked good.

When he had left, she was still on the brink of womanhood and still had some of that naïve teenager-look to her, but it was gone now. She was all grown up and she was as beautiful as ever.

"How've you been Jude?" Tommy asked. Jude shrugged.

"Things are going. Been busy with the new album. Yourself?" She asked.

"No complaints." She nodded.

"So, what couldn't you tell me over the phone?" She asked. Tommy sighed.

"I'm going to be straight with you. About 3-4 weeks ago, Georgia set up a meeting with me in L.A. She said she had things to discuss with me."

"What did she want? She never mentioned anything? Is G Major ok?"

"Yeah, it's nothing like that." Tommy said, and paused. "She expressed a few concerns about some of the singers at G Major and she asked me if I wanted my old job back. She said G Major was suffering without me and she needed me back."

"That's great Tommy." Jude said, feeling happy he was going to come back to Toronto. Wait, I sense a but. "Who are you going to be producing?"

"Jude, it would mean me coming back to produce your album." He said, looking into her eyes. Jude was silent. "I told Georgia I couldn't do anything unless you wanted me to come back. I don't want to impose."

Jude didn't say anything. She just stared in Tommy's eyes. Tommy wanted to say something more but he didn't want to push her response. He needed her to think things over.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey all, sorry it's been so long since the last update. I've been so busy with college lately, it's not even cool. I hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving and I promise to try and post more frequently. I'm going to address some reviews at the end of the posts so if you reviewed, thanks and look for your name. :D Hope you all enjoy this update.

**Chapter 4**

Come back to G Major? Be my producer? Do I want him? Hell yes! Then why can't you say it? Jude asked herself. Because he hurt you by leaving. He hurt you in a way you never knew you could be hurt. He abandoned you just like Daddy did. Someone she trusted to never leave her. Someone who had once told her he loved her. She didn't know what to think about him returning. She needed him; her album was tanking without him, but she didn't know how else she felt.

"Jude? You don't have to answer now." Tommy said, tentatively. "You can think on it a few days…"

"No."

"What?" Tommy said, feeling slightly disappointed. She's saying no. He thought.

"No, I don't need to think about it." She said, sounding confident and shaking herself out of her funk. "My album has been tanking without you Tommy, I know it, everyone knows it. I need your musical genius." She said, with a small smile. Tommy felt relieved and gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Jude."

"It's true." She said, and added "But on a personal level? I don't know what to think. I've missed you as a friend, but…I've gotten along without you."

"I understand." Tommy said, knowing she would probably say something like that. She nodded. "Good." She said. Jude's phone rang and she picked it up.

"Hello?" She said, slightly confused as to why EJ was calling her.

"Jude! You're rehearsal was scheduled to start 15 minutes ago, where are you?"

Jude gasped.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I lost track of time. Is it too late?" She asked. Tommy looked at her quizzically.

"No, but Jude, hurry and get down here."

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" She said, hanging up. "I can't believe it, I'm late for rehearsal!" Jude said, leaping up from the seat. Tommy followed her, practically jogging to keep pace.

Jude crossed to her car and Tommy stopped short. "Come one, we're already late!" Jude said.

"Uh-hu! There is no _way_ I am getting in a car with you." Tommy protested.

"Why not?"

"If you remember right, I've drove with you before; I don't want to relive that experience."

"It was your idea!"

"Yeah, I was having a lapse in sanity that day." Jude glared at him.

"Get in the car."

"Hell no." Tommy protested.

"Fine. You can walk." Jude said, getting into the car and starting the engine. Tommy sighed and jumped into the passenger seat, and muttered something under his breath. "What now?"

"I'm saying a prayer for my life. I think I'm going to need it."

"Have some faith." Jude said, pulling out of the parking spot.

10 minutes later, Jude pulled into another parking spot outside of the mall where her gig was going to be located. They got out of the car and Tommy looked slightly pale.

"I am never riding in a car with you again." Tommy said, taking a few deep breathes.

"Oh, come on, we made it in one piece!"

"The mailboxes didn't." Tommy muttered.

"It's just mailboxes!" Jude protested as they walked into the doors of the mall.

"You almost ran over an old man with his walker!"

"He jumped out in front of me!"

"Jude! Old man! And a walker! He didn't jump! He barely crept!" Jude scowled.

"We made it didn't we!" She demanded.

Before Tommy could retaliate, Georgia stormed over and demanded for Jude to get to the stage. As Jude made her way through the tech people, Georgia turned to Tommy.

"So?" She asked. Tommy decided to make Georgia squirm a bit.

"Well, I don't think she's going to go for it?"

"Why not?" Georgia asked.

"She nearly killed me getting here." Tommy said.

"So, she didn't give you an answer?" Georgia asked.

"Not yet…" Georgia glared. "Fine. She did." He said a slight smile on his face.

"Thomas Quincy! You know better than to do that to me!"

"Jude is OK with me producing her again." He said, and Georgia grinned brightly.

"So, Quincy, how soon can you move back to Toronto?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I haven't mentioned anything to Smith, so I'll have to get back to you." Georgia nodded. Marc Snow walked in and strode up to Georgia. He stopped when he saw Tommy.

"Tommy."

"Marc." Georgia turned to Tommy.

"Sit back, enjoy the show. Marc, let's see if Jude's ready." Georgia winked at Tommy and walked away. Tommy sat near the sound booth, and Kwest turned to look at him.

"Good to see ya again, Man." He said. They did a complicated handshake and Tommy sat next to him, watching everyone work to get ready for Jude's show.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"_You said you didn't need me but you did  
you said you didn't want me. But you do  
it's kinda like a comedy  
First you kiss me and then say we're through_

_I say you've got some issues, Yeah you do  
Some things you gotta work through, you really do  
It's sorta like a talk show  
No wait, a freak show when the freak is you_

_I'm the smoke from your fire  
I'm that guy you can trust  
I'm a cord on your guitar  
I'm that girl you can't shut up  
I'm the blood you might need  
In your car when you speed  
In that cigarette you breathe  
you can't get rid of me_

_You said I wasn't funny when you laughed  
you said I couldn't drive fast, and then you crashed  
Funny how it works out with your big mouth  
You'll always get it back_

_You thought you had me worked out, you're not deep  
Mr. I screw about, you're still a creep  
At best you could've confessed that you're A big mess   
And that you're so damn weak_

_I'm the smoke from your fire  
I'm that guy you can trust  
I'm a cord on your guitar  
I'm that girl you can't shut up  
I'm the blood you might need  
In your car when you speed  
In that cigarette you breathe  
You can't get rid of me_

_but still I try and justify  
try and let this die, you'll never say goodbye again  
I can't quite rub it in your face  
Just in three more days I'll send you home to cry_

_I'm the blood you might need  
in your car when you speed  
In that cigarette you breathe  
You can't get rid of me"_

Jude finished That Girl with a rock out. As Tommy watched her perform, he couldn't help but feel pride. Jude Harrison really is an Instant Star. The girl had a natural talent that could never be learned or taught.

Jude bowed as a chorus of cheers exploded throughout the theater. After a moment, she ran behind the stage, a huge smile plastered on her face and Tommy couldn't help but be reminded of the 15 year old girl she used to be.

He stood in the background with his hands in his pockets as she was congratulated by the stage crew. He saw Jude turn to Georgia and give her a hug; EJ and Kwest appeared and he watched as they congratulated her and hugged. He felt a slight pang in his heart, knowing he used to be the first she ran to after a great performance. Mark walked up to Jude and whispered something in her ear, the girl nodded and said her thanks before following him away from her praise; probably off to talk about the show. Tommy thought, walking over to Georgia and Kwest.

"So, what do you think?" Georgia asked.

"I didn't fail to notice that she didn't do anything new." Tommy stated and added "She's Jude. She's a natural performer. She couldn't tank a performance even if she tried." Georgia nodded in agreement and Kwest's eyes narrowed at Tommy's words.

"So, Georgia, out of curiosity, when are you going to tell Mark he's fired?" Kwest asked.

"As soon as Tommy is safely back to L.A." Georgia stated. The guys laughed. She put her arm around Tommy. "Don't want my producer to be killed or injured in anyway." Tommy scowled and Kwest laughed at his friend's expense.

Georgia and Kwest continued to talk but Tommy was only half listening. He was watching the hall where Jude escaped, waiting for her to reappear.

Mark led Jude away from everyone and shoved her into an empty room behind the stage. He left the door open and stormed up to her; anger flaring in his eyes. Jude stood her ground and looked defiantly into his.

"I _told_ you to do the new arrangements." Mark said his voice venomous.

"And _I _told _you_ I don't like them." Jude told him, her voice even and unemotional.

"_I'm _your producer now; you do what I tell you to." He demanded, grabbing her arm roughly. "Do you understand me?" He demanded. Jude glared at him.

"Everyone else likes the original arrangements. I'm _not_ changing them." She said her voice even, her gaze blazing. Mark's fists clenched as he shoved her arm out of his grip. Jude rubbed her wrist gingerly.

"You will do as I tell you." He said, his voice dripping with warning.

"Or what…?" Jude asked, rolling her eyes. Like she was scared of that threat.

"I can make your life hell Jude. You think its bad now, you don't know anything." He said.

"Oh, I'm real scared." Jude said, very sarcastically.

Before she knew what happened, she found herself hunched over on the floor, her head spinning and her cheek stinging. Jude pushed herself to her knees and she sat on her calves, her hand coming up to her cheek to rub the soreness out of it. She kept her eyes to the floor. She did not want to look at him. Did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her rattled. She promised herself she wouldn't cry. Not before this bastard.

"Is there a problem here?" A voice asked. Jude didn't need to look to see who it was. She knew already and she felt herself relax and let relief flood over her. Tommy wouldn't let Mark anywhere near her; not if he suspected fowl play and she knew he did. Tommy always did.

"Quincy, this has nothing to do with you." Mark spat out, looking at his foe. Tommy held up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"Hey man, I'm only here to congratulate my friend on a good performance." Tommy stated and Mark glared at him.

"I know what you're really doing Quincy." Mark said. "Jude's mine; not yours." He said. Tommy's eyes darkened.

"Really? Here I thought Jude was her own person." Mark scowled. "Besides, Mark, I thought I was only here to be a friend and congratulate Jude; but apparently, you know more about it than I do, so enlighten me, what am I really doing here?" He said a smirk on his face.

"Just so _happens_ her friend is her former producer?" Mark barked.

"Shit happens." Tommy said with a shrug. Mark glared at Tommy but Tommy wasn't at all intimidated. He could eat guys like Mark for breakfast if he wanted. Tommy glared back and Mark shoved past him. Tommy watched him leave and walked over to Jude and knelt down next to her.

"Jude?" Tommy asked, trying to get the 18-year-old to look at him. Jude started to shake slightly and Tommy laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. Jude turned to him, tears forming in her eyes and Tommy's heart broke when he saw the bruise on her face. Then he felt angry at Mark for hurting her.

"Tommy, don't." She said, as she realized he was connecting the dots.

"He. Hit. You." Tommy said, slowly, trying to keep is anger in check. He examined the bruise and Jude let out a small sniff. "Bastard." Tommy spat, his eyes darkening further in more anger.

"Don't. You'll just make things worst." She said, tears beginning to fall.

"I'll let it go, but Jude, you have to"

"Tommy, just shut up!" She said, breaking into sobs. Tommy quickly wrapped his arms around her and Jude wrapped hers around him. She sobbed into his shoulder and Tommy silently vowed he'd make sure Mark Snow never hurt her again.

Tommy heard a noise outside the door and he glanced up to see Kwest giving him that all too familiar look of disapproval as he closed the door on them. Tommy made a mental note to think him later and continued to hold Jude as she sobbed, murmuring words of comfort to her.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Next Day**

Georgia left her office. She had just heard from Tommy what had transpired backstage between her producer and Jude. She was going to ruin Snow's reputation. He had no reason to hit his singer. Ever.

She strolled into Studio B and told Mark to get into her office. Now. Mark got up and started to her office. Once he got there, he let himself in and sat down in a chair across from Georgia's. Georgia took her seat across from him.

"Mark, I'm going to be frank. Jude won't tell me how she happened to get that huge bruise on her face. Do you know anything about it?"

"No. I talked to her after her performance, but Quincy interrupted before I could finish my conversation. Maybe he did something." Mark suggested.

"Are you saying you believe Tommy hit Jude?" Mark shrugged.

"He could have."

"Mark, Tommy worked with Jude for about 2 years without incident. Do you really think he'd hit her after that long of a relationship?" Mark shrugged again. Georgia sighed.

"I have several reports from stage crew saying you and Jude had an argument."

"Yes, we were."

"I see." Georgia said, her eyes darkening.

"I would never hit a woman." Mark defended.

"Tommy tells me when he walked in the room; you were standing over Jude who was on the floor, holding her cheek. Is this true?"

"Thomas Quincy is a liar."

"No Mark, I think you are." Georgia stated. "I'm going to have to let you go."

"You can't fire me."

"I am, and I have." Georgia said her voice matter-of-fact. Mark seethed in his chair.

"You'll be sorry."

"I don't think I will be."

Mark got up and stormed out of the office. Georgia sighed and rubbed her temples. She got up and walked back to the studio where Jude was sitting there, strumming her guitar and singing quietly.

"…Just give me something to get rid of him, I've got a reason now to bury this alive, another little white lie…" Jude stopped when she saw Georgia enter the room. She set her guitar down on the bench next to her. "Sorry." She said.

"Jude, take a month or two off. Relax." Jude stared at Georgia, her expression shocked. "I just fired Mark. You have no producer until Tommy can return; so go home, relax, write a song or two if you must." Georgia said.

"You fired him already?" Jude said, surprised it was so quick.

"Yes."

"Oh." Jude said, looking at the floor.

"I had some…issues brought to my attention." Georgia said.

"I'm sorry Jude." Georgia said. Jude said nothing in response. Georgia stood up, patted the younger girl on the shoulder and left the studio, knowing Jude wouldn't leave the studio; at least, not now.

**

* * *

Maddie: Sorry, I think I knew that, but I typed it wrong. Sorry, I know I said blue eyes later. Thanks for the correction though.**

**WhooHoo822:** lol, I know what you mean about cliffhangers, and unfortunately, I'm pretty good with cliffhangers, so I can't promise there won't be anymore to come, but I will promise I'll try not to wait so long before the next update:D

**Undiscovered91: **Pretty much the same as whoohoo, I'm fairy good with cliffhangers and I know how badly they suck as a reviewer. I can't promise there won't be more cliffies to come, but I'll promise to try not to wait so long before the next update!

**instarNUM1:** lol, good to see enthusiastic reviewers. Of course she says yes! How could she not?

**PJ4Eva:** lol, I hope her answer didn't disappoint. Glad to see an enthusiastic reviewer!

**Music88: **lol, where there was a chapter two, unfortunately, I've been busy so I haven't been posting much. I'm actually currently typing up to Chapter 17, I just don't want to give the plot away in one whole post. :D

**lovwhoever:** lol, here's another update for ya!'

**icequenz16:** Glad you like it. Hope to see more reviews

**Catch1star:** Good to see someone using their detective skills.

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! I love seeing them, so review, the good-bad-and ugly, and I'll post quicker. How's that for a deal?


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Sorry it's been so long since the last post, I'm going to post a few chapters to make up for it. I'm going to try and get this caught up to the message board I'm posting this on, so there'll be a few chapters posted everyday, starting tonight. Probably 4 chapters or so each day, depending on where the cut off point is. :D I hope you guys enjoy the posts, I'll be responding to reviews tonight also. :D Enjoy the updates! please note: I do not own Boyz Attack or the lyrics to Pick Up The Pieces. They belong to the fabulous writers of Instant Star; please don't sue!

**Chapter 7**

**Month Later**

Jude and Kat sat on the couch in Jude's living room; the two girls were sharing a box of Kleenex and a bowl of popcorn. They were almost to the end of the movie and both girls had tears streaming down their faces. They were watching A Walk to Remember, a movie that always made both girls cry at the end no matter how many times they've seen it.

Jude handed Kat the tissues and the girl took one and dabbed at her eyes. The movie just ended and Jude grabbed the remote, aimed it at the DVD player and pushed the stop button. They sat there a moment to compose themselves.

"I miss this Jude." Kat said once she got her tears under control.

"What?"

"This, us hanging out and crying over some movie. I mean, you've been so busy with recording, and I've been designing; it seems we never have time to be best friends anymore." Kat said.

"Oh Kat, I'm sorry, it's just"

"I know Jude. You love making music and I love designing. It's just, I miss you. We need to do this more often." Jude nodded in agreement.

"You're right Kat." Both girls hugged and broke apart, both feeling slightly sad at how their friendship seemed to be going.

"So, when does Tommy return?" Kat asked. A smile appeared on Jude's face involuntarily. Tommy. Just the thought of him made her heart skip a beat and her body melt. She missed him; both as a producer and as a friend.

"I don't know. I think next month. He said he'd call, but I haven't heard from him." Jude said, sighing. Kat nodded, but said nothing. "I've got some song ideas in my head, but they're not coming out right. I'm hoping once Tommy gets back, he can help me. Thought he'll probably be too busy redoing my old tracks with Mark." Jude let out another sigh and waved her hand dismissively. "Enough about me, what about you Kat? Did you get that scholarship?" Jude asked. Before she could answer, her cell phone rang. Jude glanced at the screen and frowned when she saw the unknown number.

"Hello?" Jude said into the phone. Silence greeted her on the other end. "Hello?" Jude said again, feeling uneasy.

"Juuuuuuude." The voice sang out, and the phone disconnected. Jude stared at the phone, an icy feeling creeping down her back.

"Jude?" Kat asked. Her phone rang again. Jude nearly jumped out of her skin at the shrill ringing and picked it up without bothering to look at the screen; her hand trembled slightly.

"Hello?" She said, trying to sound cool.

"Hey Jude, are you too busy to talk?" Jude let out a sigh of relief. It was Shay. They became friends again after he returned from his tour. Jude suspected Shay wanted to get back together, but she wouldn't set herself up for another fall. She just couldn't trust him romantically anymore. She didn't want to worry about him when he left to do a show that he was going to be making out with some other chick.

"Can I call you back later Shay?" Jude asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." He said and hung up. Jude shut off her phone so it wouldn't ring again on her day with Kat.

"What was that?"

"Shay." Kat gave Jude a strange look. "We're friends…nothing more." Jude said defensively. Kat's phone rang and Jude laughed. "At this rate, we're never going to be able to hang out." She joked. Kat answered her phone and Jude could tell it was Jamie on the other end by the way Kat's eyes lit up as she talked. Jude tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to when your friend was sitting right next to you.

"I don't know Jamie. I'm supposed to be hanging with Jude…"

"It's fine Kat." Kat turned to Jude. "Really, go hang out with Jamie. Have fun." Jude said sincerely.

"Are you sure?" Kat said, looking torn.

"Yeah, go have dinner. Have fun with Jamie. We've been hanging out all morning and afternoon." Kat told Jamie she'd call him back and turned to Jude.

"Are you sure? I don't care if you care…I mean, we said we'd hang out all day and night and do a sleepover thing…"

"I'm sure. Go, have fun with your boyfriend." Jude smiled knowingly. "Besides, I know you'd rather go and look at Jamie than me." She said teasingly. Kat smiled.

"OK, I'll go. Only because you told me to." Kat said, getting off the couch.

"Go knock 'im dead Kat." Jude said. Kat beamed at Jude.

"Not too dead." Kat stated, and winked. The girls waved goodbye and Kat left the house. Jude sighed and turned her cell phone back on. Two seconds after it connected, the shrill ringing pierced the air.

"Hello?" Jude said, walking up the stairs to her room. As she crossed by Sadie's room, she could hear her Boyz Attack cd blasting. Jude winced slightly.

"Juuude…" The voice said. She felt a chill go down her spine. Jude entered her room and shut the door attempting to drown out the sound of Boyz Attack. Unfortunately, her effort was in vain as she could clearly hear the lyrics to I'm Not Just Some Guy (made that up).

"What are you?" Jude demanded.

"You're mine Jude. You'll see. You're all mine." The voice said and she could tell it was male, raspy, and slightly familiar. She felt her blood run cold as the words absorbed into her brain.

"Who are you?" She demanded again.

"You're mine Jude. Remember that." The line went dead. Jude stared at the phone for a minute and once the dial tone actually registered in her mind, she hung it up. She suddenly felt cold, though the room was warm a minute ago. She shivered and sat down on her bed, trying to figure out why the voice was so familiar.

Who could it be? She wondered. She was worried it was some psycho guy she signed an autograph for on tour and now he was stalking her; waiting for her to come out of her house and kill her or rape her or something. Jude shuddered. Stop it Jude, it can't be that bad…who could it…_I'm not just some guy, I'm the guy who…_No! I am not going to be singing Boyz Attack. Uh-hu! No way, no how! She leaped off her bed and ran to the wall. She banged against it like she had a million times before and yelled

"Sadie! Turn that crap down!" Of course her sister just turned the volume up and Jude was being completely serenaded by the band she hated most and the one guy she couldn't imagine living without. Messed up. She thought. She glared at Sadie through the wall. She could picture Sadie standing in her room, singing into the end of her hairbrush horribly off key. Jude winced at the image and sat back down on her bed, contemplating who the caller could be, but couldn't get much accomplished as the lyrics to all the annoying songs of Boyz Attack entered her head.

Her phone rang again, and Jude stared at it while it rang four times. Just answer it. Jude thought to herself. She picked it up and frowned slightly at the number. She didn't recognize it. If it's no one I know, I'll hang up. She reasoned.

"Hello?" Jude answered.

"Hey Girl." A voice on the other end greeted.

"Tommy! Hey, what's up?" Jude asked.

"I'm fine…are you listening to Boyz Attack?" Tommy asked, sounding shocked and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Hell no! Sadie has been blasting that crap all morning!"

"Uh-Hu, blame it on the sister…We both know you're a closet fan. I seem to remember you singing at the studio." Tommy said, and she wanted to reach through the phone and smack him.

"I have you know, because of that crap, I can't think to get anything write."

"You poor baby." Tommy said, and she could hear the sarcasm in his voice. Jude scowled.

"I'm sure you didn't call to harass me about the Boyz Attack music my sister has been playing all freakin day, over and over again."

"How do you know that?" Tommy joked and paused. "OK, I agree, that has to end…I'm getting annoyed." Tommy stated. Jude laughed.

"You sang those songs."

"Don't remind me." Jude laughed at Tommy's expense.

"Hold on a sec, I'm going to get her to stop."

"Please do." Tommy said. Jude sighed and left her room and banged on Sadie's door. She waited a moment but her sister did not appear. Jude sighed and opened the door. Sadie had her back to Jude, doing the gay Boyz Attack dance to the music. Jude shook her head and crossed the stereo and pushed the off button. She was slightly puzzled when she could still hear the lyrics being sang to her, but quickly realized it was Tommy.

"…_I'll write your name in stars across the sky  
__We'll drift away into each other's eyes_…" Tommy stopped short when he realized the music had stopped.

"Please don't tell me you were doing the dance too." Jude stated.

"I think I would have to shoot myself." Tommy stated. Jude noticed Sadie had perked up when she heard Jude talking.

"Are you talking to Tommy?" Sadie asked.

"Tell her no!" Tommy said, his voice sounding panicked. Jude grinned evilly.

"Yup." She said, and she heard Tommy groan and Sadie squeal simultaneously. Jude rolled her eyes at her sister and stalked out of the room and shut her door behind her.

"So, what's up?" Jude asked him.

"Right, uh…what was I…oh! Right! Sorry I haven't called sooner, I've been working on"

"It's fine. I understand…Mr. Perfectionist." Jude said, playfully.

"Yeah, anyway, I wanted to let you know that I'm almost at a wraps here; my deadline is in about another week or so."

"In other words, I gatta get back to work?" Jude said.

"Yup, kiss goodbye all those sleep-in days and say hello to the endless nights at the studio." Jude groaned. "I've gatta get going though. I was supposed to be at a meeting about…10 minutes ago." Tommy said, and Jude could hear the wince in his voice.

"I guess I'll let you go." Jude said jokingly. They both said their goodbyes and they hung up their phones. Jude sat back on her bed and picked up her guitar and strummed a couple of chords and Sadie walked in.

"What'd Tommy want? Is he coming back?" She asked.

"Sadie, he dumped you." Jude pointed out.

"Only because he was leaving." Sadie defended. Jude rolled her eyes and gave her sister the yeah right look and continued to strum. Sadie took the hint and huffed before leaving the room.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

2 Weeks Later

Jude walked into G Major and nodded at the interns as she made her way to Studio B. She closed the door behind her and picked up her guitar she had left there the night before. She checked the strings and began to strum; hoping lyrics would come to her head. She continued to strum for a few minutes, and stopped as the door opened and Kwest entered the studio.

"Hey." Jude said, greeting him with a smile.

"How's it going?" Kwest asked, nodding at the guitar and taking a seat on her left. Jude sighed in frustration.

"Fine, but the words just aren't coming to me." Jude said a frown on her face.

"Jude Harrison, uninspired? Alert the media, I think this is a first." Kwest joked. Jude scowled and said nothing. She began to play the angry melody again.

"What comes to your mind as you play?" Kwest asked, attempting to help her mental writers block. Jude stopped short.

"Nothing. That's the problem." Jude said, sighing.

"That's because you're trying too hard." A tired voice said. Jude and Kwest turned towards the door and saw a tired looking Tommy leaning against the door jam. A bright smile appeared on Jude's face and she set her guitar aside and launched herself at Tommy; knocking the chair over as she did so. The pair shared a brief hug and Jude stepped back.

"When did you get back?" Jude asked.

"Late afternoon yesterday. I spent the day unpacking and then Georgia called and demanded my presence here." Tommy said, collapsing in a chair next to Kwest. "I've been here since about…9:00 last night…" Tommy trailed off and shook his head. Kwest and Tommy then did a complicated handshake that Jude couldn't follow.

"Can't handle those all-nighters anymore eh Quincy?" Kwest joked. Tommy yawned and shrugged.

"I listened to the tracks last night Jude…" Tommy made a face and Jude nodded in agreement. "I think we should burn it before it gets leaked and start fresh." Jude nodded again. "I noticed a couple inconsistencies in the lyrics; we should probably start there first." Jude sighed and glanced up at the clock. It was only 11:00 in the morning and she suspected it was going to be a long day.

Jude sat down across from Tommy. Kwest snuck out of the room as they began to argue over revisions and bounce ideas off of each other for the melodies. Sometime later, they were interrupted by an excited voice.

"Oh, my god!" EJ exclaimed. Jude and Tommy jumped slightly, but EJ kept on. "I know what would put Jude out there!" She squealed excitedly. "The press would love it…forget the press! The fans would go crazy!"

"EJ!" Jude and Tommy yelled simultaneously.

"What!" EJ snapped, sounding annoyed about being interrupted.

"What are you talking about?"

"A Duet. Jude hasn't done one since Shay." Jude grinned, obviously catching onto EJ's thinking.

"Who?" Tommy asked, looking puzzled.

"Duh! Tommy! You and Jude! It'll be perfect! There will be press releases, music videos, and talk shows…" EJ trailed off. "I hafta tell Georgia!" She said, rushing out of the room. Jude grinned and turned to Tommy. Once she saw him, her grin fell from her face.

"Tommy?" Tommy didn't look up at her. He looked shocked at the prospect of the duet. "Come on, it'll be fun!" Jude said, looking at him.

"She's crazy." Tommy muttered. Jude felt her heart sink.

"What? It's a great idea!" Jude defended. Tommy opened his mouth to comment, but Jude cut him off. "Come on Tommy! I've always wanted to do a duet with you. It'd be great publicity and I know you miss singing. How bad could it be?" Jude asked. Tommy sighed and got out of his chair. He took a few steps away from her and stated in a low voice "I don't know if I want to…"

"Why not?" Jude asked. Tommy sighed and offered no response. "Come on Tommy! You loved performing at the tele-thon. The plus side will also be that the guys won't be involved and you can be the creative genius…" Jude said, hoping to get him to say yes.

"That's just the thing Jude. I do this, and what'll be the new talks? A solo album, Boyz Attack reunion? A secret love affair behind the scenes? It doesn't matter what I do; the image of my teenage days will always follow me."

"So do something different! You did it with frozen" Tommy stiffened and scowled at the mention of his album "you can do it again!" Jude argued. He sighed and said nothing in response.

Georgia and EJ entered the room, both grinning from ear-to-ear.

"I love it! I'm so glad to hear Tom agreed."

"I never said I was going to do it." Tommy said, his voice carrying his annoyance.

"Oh Tom, stop it. We all know you like the idea and you're going to do it." Tommy's gaze darkened. The girls laughed. "I'll have to have you schedule a press release…" Georgia was saying to EJ.

"No." Tommy snapped. Everyone looked at him. "I never agreed to this." Tommy said, glaring at EJ.

"Tom-"

"No Georgia. I have to think about it." Tommy said his voice softer this time. EJ looked like her puppy had died.

"OK, you let us know what you decide." Georgia said, looking disappointed and left the studio, EJ in tow. Tommy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Jude sat down, looking as disappointed as EJ.

"I'm sorry Jude, but I have to think about this."

"OK." Jude said, and Tommy sighed. He knelt down next to her chair.

"It's not that I don't want to do this. The 18-year-old inside me who wanted a solo-career more than anything is all for this…"

"But…?"

"But the 25-year-old producer isn't so sure it's a good idea." Tommy sighed. "I just need to think it through Jude. I don't want to jump into this and find out half way through I really don't want to. I don't want to disappoint you like that."

"You think I'm not disappointed now?" Tommy hung his head. "I understand Tommy; I really do, but why do you have to be so difficult?" Tommy gave her a small smile and sighed.

"Why don't we take a break?" He suggested. "We need to clear our heads again and I'm sure you're thoughts aren't exactly on target right now." Jude just shrugged and left the studio and Tommy alone. Tommy sighed and got up from his crouched position on the floor. He walked over to the soundboard and laid his hands on it and leaned into it, his head into his chest. He knew he'd give in and do the duet. He knew the press would eat it up and the fans would love it. Not to mention, Jude would love it. But a nagging feeling in the back of his head made him hesitate. Tommy sighed once more. And lifted his head to look out into the recording booth.

He could vividly remember standing behind a similar mic and singing his heart out; pouring out his soul in music for all to bear witness to. He walked away from his friends; all because he wanted a solo album and even that was taken away from him so fast it made his head spin and shattered his world. He didn't want to set himself up for another fall; so he took the safe way out. He couldn't get music out of him. It was in his soul, his blood. It was his reason for getting up in the morning. He took the easy way out. Instead of getting up on his feet and finding another label to sign under, he ran out of the spotlight and began producing. That way, he wouldn't have to feel the pain of his frozen album.

Tommy took a deep breathe and shoved the thoughts of his album out of is mind. You gotta get over it man. He told himself. That was nearly 10 years ago. The door to the studio opened and Kwest stepped tentatively into the room.

"Hey man." Tommy said, not looking away from the glass.

"I heard about EJ's idea." Tommy laughed.

"I'm sure Beijing heard EJ's idea by now."

"Why'd you turn it down?" Kwest asked. Tommy sighed.

"I know Kwest! I know what you're going to say because I've already argued it out. I know I need to do this…if not for myself than for Jude. If I do this…I don't think I can hold back anymore." Kwest sighed.

"You still love her?"

"I know, I know…yes, I'm in love with Jude Harrison. That hasn't ever changed. I know exactly how it's going to look if I do this Kwest. I don't want to ruin her for it."

"You can't keep hiding Tom." Kwest said. Tommy turned his head to look at him, his expression pained. "You're not getting any younger and since when have you cared about what people think? I know you man, and I know you're freaked…hell, you're scared shitless."

"What do you propose I do then?"

"You concur you're fear." Kwest said, simply and laid a hand on Tommy's shoulder.

"I think you're right." Tommy said, giving Kwest a knowing smile. "No more holding back."


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: **I want to state, I own the lyrics to the song, Two Worlds Collide. They came from the depths of my own mind, so if they look familiar, then I suddenly became psychic or something. :D Enjoy this post.

**Chapter 9**

Tommy left Studio B and went to Georgia's office. He knocked softly on the door and Georgia yelled "Come in!"

Tommy opened the door and stepped into the office.

"Georgia?" Tommy said, closing the door behind him with a soft click. "EJ caught me off guard earlier, and I wanted to say, I'm sorry."

"No need to do that Tom." Georgia said a small smile on her face.

"Anyway, I just want to let you know; logically, this is a good publicity stunt. It's something Jude needs to get her back in the lime light and get people excited about her next album and that's why I'm going to agree to do it." Georgia smiled and got out of her chair and walked over to Tommy.

"I knew you'd come around." She said. Tommy scowled at her but said nothing.

"Well, you two have songs to mix and a new duet to write, so get crackin!" Georgia stated. Tommy laughed at her sternness.

"Yes Ma'am." He said, and left the office and went off to find Jude. He searched the studio, but he couldn't find her. He gave up and walked into Studio B and sat down in his chair. He hung his head and sighed. Something caught his attention under the sound board and he reached under to pull it out. He frowned at what he held in his hand. It was a well warn black notebook. The edges of the paper were yellowing with age and the corners bent and crinkled.

Tommy stared at it, fingering the pages. He knew what this notebook was. He forgot he had hid it in the studio years ago. He had been in his first couple months as a producer and he still held onto his dream of going solo. Between recordings, he would sit in the studio and continue to write songs that came to him as naturally as breathing. He had hidden the notebook before a meeting one day and had forgotten about it as his clientele rose. Tommy sighed and opened it to a random page, and skimmed over the words he had written what felt like ages ago.

"Tommy!" EJ's voice rang through the studio. Tommy started and set the notebook down. "Why didn't you tell me? This is so great! I have to get the word out and get the interest flowing!" EJ squeed with delight and left the room. Tommy shook his head and an intern stuck his head into the room.

"Mr. Quincy?"

"Yes?"

"Michelle needs you in Studio A." the kid said. Tommy got up and followed the intern out of the studio.

Jude walked back into Studio B, a bottle of water in her hand. Tommy must not be back yet. She thought as she surveyed the empty studio. She saw a notebook lying open and she picked it up, reading what was scrawled out on the page.

_Two Worlds Collide_

_You were with your friends  
__Looking kind of sexy  
__You were laughing  
__And I noticed a sparkle in your eyes  
__Then you eyes met mine…  
__And I felt the Earth shake as two worlds collided  
__For the first time_

_When two worlds collide  
__Everything felt so right  
__Yet I knew it to be so wrong  
__You were a little too timid for me  
__But you didn't seem to mind  
__My friends couldn't understand  
__Why I would waste my time with you_

_They spoke the truth when they say we're too different  
__But they just don't understand  
__What happens when Two worlds collide,  
__Nothing_ _else seems to matter  
__I think we fell in love when two worlds collided_

Jude smiled at the lyrics. It's good. She thought. Needs some work, but it's good. She was interrupted when Tommy entered the room.

"Hey," She said, frowning at the notebook, she held it up for him to see. "Got another artist to produce?" She asked.

Tommy snatched the notebook from her and snapped it shut. "Just you girl." He said, tossing it aside like it was poison.

"They who wrote those songs? They're pretty good." Jude said, watching Tommy bustle around the studio.

Without looking at her, Tommy replied "They were written a long time ago."

"By whom?" Jude asked, though she suspected she already knew the answer. Tommy didn't answer, but continued to busy himself. Jude wondered if he even heard her question. Minutes later, Tommy answered, his voice soft and barely audible.

"I did." He glanced over at her to gage her reaction. Jude just stared back and a smile played on her face. "What?" He asked her. Jude dashed across the room and grabbed the notebook and flipped through it until she found what she was looking for. She folded the notebook back and handed it to Tommy who watched her with a puzzled expression. He recognized the song as soon as he saw the title. Two Worlds Collide. A song he had wrote for his ex-wife when he thought he was in love with her.

"Read it!" Jude insisted.

"I know what it says." Tommy said a slight hint of pain in his voice.

"It's perfect Tommy! We can modify it slightly and it could be our duet!" Jude said excitedly, and Tommy couldn't bring himself to tell her why he didn't want to perform that particular song.

"Jude..."

"No Tommy; it works, it's perfect." Jude said, and Tommy just sighed and said nothing.

"We need to get the other songs done first. We can talk about that later." Tommy said. Jude nodded and left to go into the sound proof booth. Let's do it. Jude thought, placing the headphones on her head and sending Tommy thumbs up to let him know to start.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was 10 pm when she left the studio that night. Jude walked out to her car and drove home without incident. She pulled into her driveway and locked the car with the remote as she walked up the drive to the darkened house. She fumbled with her keys and finally was able to get the door opened.

She groped the wall for the light switch and flicked it on, closing the door behind her. Jude entered the kitchen to get a glass of water and noticed the note on the table.

_Jude,  
__I went out with some friends. Be home late. Sadie is out on a date with Simon.  
__Love,  
__Mom_

Jude sighed and got a glass out of the cupboard and filled the glass to the brim and took a long drink. She heard a creak and she started, almost dropping the class onto the hard wood floor. She set it down on the counter and shook herself mentally. Stop it Jude, you're hearing things. She thought. She heard another noise and she felt the hair on the back of her neck prick with a twinge of fear.

"Hello?" Jude called. "Mom? Sadie?" She felt her heartbeat accelerate with fear. Her skin started to feel clammy and blood pounded in her ears. "God Jude, stop being stupid" she muttered "there's no one here, get a grip." She walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch and flicked on the remote. She sat there a second and then leaped off the couch and onto the chair next to it. She stared at the couch in horror. People have done nasty things on that couch…Jude though and shuddered. She lounged against it and flipped through the channels half-heartedly. She left it on the news and moments later, her eyes felt heavy and her eyes closed almost involuntarily.

CRASH! The noise echoed throughout the house and Jude sprang up from the chair, perfectly alert. She looked around frantically looking for the source of the noise. She heard light cursing coming from upstairs. Jude looked around for a place to hide and dashed into the closet under the stairs and pressed herself up against the wall. She heard footsteps beginning to descend the stairs and she held her breath, as though the simple act of breathing would alert whoever was in the house of her location.

"Ju-ude!" The voice said, and she could tell it was a falsetto male voice. She knew he stepped off of the last step by the way it creaked under his feet.

"Where are you Jude?" The voice asked. Jude stepped cautiously backwards towards the back portion of the closet; trying to get herself out of sight. She sidestepped a couple boxes and other clutter that was stored there. The footsteps grew fainter and she took a deep breath. She took another step back and she knocked a couple of books over from a high piled stack. Jude froze. Please don't hear…she thought.

She looked around, trying to figure out another way out of the closet, but she realized she was trapped. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and it registered no service. She cursed silently and heard the creaking of a door open. Jude knelt down and curled herself up as small as she could get. Don't come back here, don't come back here…Jude pleaded mentally.

She felt a hand touch her and she let out an ear-shattering scream. She shoved past the person, scrambling through the dark closet to get to the light of the living room. The figure behind her stumbled and latched onto her arm. Jude brought it up and elbowed the attacker in the nose.

"Ow! Damn it!" The person yelled. Jude yanked herself free and bolted out of the closet, closing the door behind her.

"Jude!" A familiar voice said. She looked around frantically and the door was forced open. Jude let out a scream of surprise.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Oh my goodness! Jamie!" Jude yelled, feeling relief wash over her. "What are you doing here!" She demanded.

"I heard some noises over here and I came to check it out." Jamie said simply, running a hand under his nose and checked it for blood. "You're lucky you didn't give me a bloody nose." He said, wincing slightly.

Jude launched herself into his arms and hugged him in relief.

"I thought someone was in the house…"

"There was someone. I came in and he ran out the back. I didn't see who it was." Jude gaped at Jamie. "Jude is there something…?"

"No."

Oh goodness, she thought, I have a stalker! What do I do! I can't tell mom, she'll just freak, hell, everyone will freak! It'll be a freak fest!

"Does anyone else have access to your house or…"

"I don't know Jamie. It was probably a burglar or something and you scared them off." Jude said, trying to sound casual. "No sense in worrying right?" She said her voice tight.

"Jude…"

"Thanks for coming over Jamie, but I'm fine. I'll see you later." Jude said, shoving him towards the door.

"OK, OK, I can take a hint." Jamie said, crossing to the door. "You sure you're ok?" He asked. Jude nodded and Jamie left the house. Once Jamie was outside, Jude slumped against the door and let out a sigh. She quickly ran to the phone and dialed a number frantically.

Pick up…Pick up…She thought

"'lo?" A sleepy voice answered on the 5th ring.

"I woke you up." Jude said, feeling bad.

"Jude it's…1:30 in the morning…" His voice trailed off "What's wrong?" Tommy said, his voice sounding slightly panicked.

"Can I…can we talk somewhere?" Jude asked, wrapping her arm around herself.

"_Now_?" Jude nodded and then realized she was on the phone.

"Yes now…why else would I call?" She said, her voice sounding mousy. Tommy paused.

"At 1:30 in the morning?" he asked.

"Let's meet at the studio." Jude said, quickly. She grabbed her keys off the table and frowned. "Tommy?"

"I'm here." Tommy said his voice groggy.

"I guess it can wait…"

"No, I'll meet you at the studio in 15." Tommy said.

"Thanks." Jude said. Tommy just grunted in response. "See ya in a few." She said and Tommy gave her a "yeah" as a response and she hung up. Jude quickly dashed out the door, not bothering to put her shoes on. She raced to her car and started it. She pulled out the driveway and sped away as quickly as her car would go.

Jude parked close to the back door of the studio. She turned off the ignition and sat in her car for a moment before stepping out into the pouring rain. While she was driving, the skies had opened up and pelted water down on the unsuspecting earth below. She jogged to the door, water sloshing over her bare feet as she ran though the mud puddles.

Jude fumbled with her keys and found the studio key Georgia had gave to her three years earlier. She twisted the key and turned the lock and dashed into the building, closing the door behind her. As she walked through the studio, she dripped water all over the tiled floor and her wet feet almost slipped a couple different times. She quickly entered the alarm code and entered the kitchen, turning on the light as she sat down on a stool next to the counter and waited anxiously for Tommy to arrive.

Jude shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, attempting to get warm. A crash of thunder made Jude jump and the answering lightning strike cut the power. Jude jumped off the stool, causing it to topple to the floor with a bang. Jude jumped at the noise.

Stop it Jude, it's just the storm. She thought.

"Jude?" A voice said. Jude gasped and spun around. The flash of lighting lit up the sky and she found herself face-to-face with Tommy. Jude launched herself into his arms, nearly knocking an unsuspecting Tommy over. He wrapped his arms around her as he stumbled back a step and steadied himself. "Jude, are you ok?" Tommy asked. She looked up at him and pulled away slightly. As she left his arms, she immediately felt cold again and shivered.

"You're soaked girl." Tommy said, taking his coat off and draping it over her shoulders.

"I feel so stupid." Jude muttered, looking away from him.

"Hey, you are not stupid Jude. Don't you ever think that." Tommy said, sternly. Jude sniffed and pulled Tommy's coat closer.

"There was someone in the house." Jude began after a moment of silence. "I came home and I feel asleep waiting for mom and Sadie to come home. I woke up to a crash and I got scared. I thought someone was in the house…" Jude shuddered and tears stung her eyes.

"I'm sure it was…"

"No Tommy. I think I do have to worry." Jude whispered and looked away from him again.

"Jude?" Tommy placed a hand under her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. "You can tell me." Tommy said, worried about what spooked her so much.

"I've been getting phone calls from someone. At first, I thought it was just an obsessed fan I met on tour or something…but now…" Jude said, tears falling down her face.

"You think you have a stalker." Tommy stated. Jude nodded and sniffed again.

"I just…I didn't want to be home. I didn't feel safe." Jude said, looking away from him again and stared at the floor and her bare feet which were frozen.

"Come on Jude, I'll take you" Tommy stopped when he saw the look of panic come on her features. He'd never seen Jude like this. He's seen her nervous, pissed, in love, broken, sad, and insanely happy. He had never seen Jude like this, so scared and fragile. For once, he could be her salvation; the role in her life he'd always denied both of them. Tommy sighed. "If you don't want to go home, you can come back to my place…" Tommy said and added quickly "as a friend. Cuz…that's what friends do…"

Jude's head snapped up at Tommy's suggestion and she stared back at him and nodded slightly. Another boom of thunder roared and Jude jumped slightly. Tommy put his arm around her shoulder, a pang hitting his heart again as she showed her vulnerability. He moved his arm so it circled her shoulders. Jude laid her head on his shoulder and they walked out of the studio together and to the Viper that was parked next to Jude's car. Jude got in and Tommy started the car and pulled out into the dark night.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Though Tommy had turned up the heat to full blast in the car, Jude sat in the passenger seat, shivering and staring absently out the window, not really seeing what was passing her eyes. They didn't need to talk, they didn't have to. All their actions were unspoken as were their emotions. Jude glanced over at Tommy. To the outside observer, he was just driving home in the dark rainy night. She knew he was anything but calm; it was the way his jaw was clenched slightly and his eyes were more narrowed, yet soft in his mix of anger and concern. His hands gripped the steering wheel slightly harder than what was necessary, even in the current weather conditions. Tommy's eyes moved over and met hers, his brown eyes softened slightly as he glanced at her and back at the road and back again.

"You ok?" He asked, looking at her and turning his attention back to the rain slicked road. Jude sniffed, and didn't answer his question right away. She had to admit, when she had bolted out of the house and sat in the dark G Major, she was terrified. She felt like a cockroach when the lights in a dark house were turned on. Vulnerable and scurrying to hide. And then Tommy showed up. Her frazzled nerves had been calmed when he held her in his arms and she was further relaxing in the comfort of his Viper. Deep down, she knew she was safe with him though he did have the tendency to hurt her in the past. "I am now…" She whispered, looking back out the window. Jude didn't see the small smile that appeared on Tommy's face when he heard her words. He pretended not to hear her, not really knowing what to say to that and stated for her

"We're almost there." Jude nodded, but said nothing. They were silent once again and Jude's eyes began to feel heavy with sleep. I'll just close my eyes for a minute…Jude thought and seconds later fell into deep doze.

"Jude?" A voice said, and she felt a hand on her upper arm and give her a slight shake. She bolted awake, fearing the worst. Her eyes quickly scanned the unfamiliar place she found herself in. She panicked slightly, feeling her heart racing a marathon in her chest.

"Jude?" A voice said softly. Jude, in her fit of fear, flung her arm out and hit something solid. "oof." The muffled voice said. Jude turned to the side where her arm collided and saw Tommy squatted next to her, holding his nose.

"Oh my goodness! Tommy! I'm so sorry!" Jude said, feeling really bad that she hit him in the nose.

"I'm ok…" Tommy said, sounding slightly nasal.

"I'm sorry!" Jude said again, looking horrified. Tommy removed his hand from his nose and glanced at it, and Jude could see the blood coming out of his nose. Tommy let out a creative string of curses and quickly left the room before he got blood all over the carpet.

Jude fought the urge to laugh, and decided to give him his privacy. It hit her at that moment. She was in Tommy's apartment! She straightened on the couch, which was very comfortable, and glanced around, not really surprised at what she saw.

She was in the living room, which was just inside the door. It was large and open, in warm colors that made it very comfortable. The couch she was seated on was a deep red, and the walls a deeper brown. The floors where actually hard-wood with fancy, light colored rugs laid out above the wood. Across from her was a plasma TV hang on the wall that pretty much covered the whole center of it. On each side of the TV were bookcases filled with CD's, cassettes, A-tracks, and a couple records. She had to guess there were probably a few hundred organized neatly on the shelves. Below the TV was a entertainment style cabinet that had surround sound speakers built into it. Jude assumed the stereo was probably hidden inside the cabinet and jumped up to check it out.

She glanced through Tommy's CD collection and was in awe with what she saw. The man probably has every CD there ever was! Jude though, pulling out a couple rare-imported tracks. Jude moved over to the other bookshelves on the other side of the TV and gasped at what she saw. She had the same plague, but it seemed odd seeing it on display in Tommy's house. There was a copy of her first CD set into black velvet. Below the CD was a copy of her booklet and on the right of the CD and booklet was wrote in Gold lettering, Jude Harrison, Double Platinum.

Jude remembered when she and Tommy had both received the plagues from Georgia as congratulations on her first album going double platinum. Jude smiled at the memory and stepped away from the bookcase. She turned around and surveyed the rest of the apartment. To her left was a long hallway and to the right was a wall with a entry way. Jude glanced into the entry way and saw it led into a pretty good sized kitchen and dining room that she knew her mother would be envious of. Jude left the living room and walked down the hallway, not looking into any of the closed doors on either side of the hallway.

There was a light on half-way down the hall and Jude called out "Tommy?" She went down the hall and faced the open door. Tommy was seated in the bathroom on the closed toilet lid, his head was pitched forward and his fingers pinching his nose to stop the blood.

"You're supposed to tip your head back." Jude stated. Tommy shook his head and said very nasally

"No you're not. If you do that, the blood pours down your throat and you could end up choking." He said, and Jude winced at the image.

"Nice." Tommy just shrugged and continued holding his nose.

"I'm sorry." Jude said, after a beat of silence, looking at Tommy sympathetically.

"'s alright. Just gonna be the last time I wake you up." He said, removing his had and glanced at the tissue he held in his hand to catch the blood. He ran his hand under his nose to see if it was still bleeding. Jude continued to watch him soundlessly, and tears began to fall down her face.

"Hey, it's ok. I'll live…" Tommy said, turning towards her. Jude shook her head and Tommy stared at her a moment in bewilderment.

"I was so scared…" She choked out and let out a sob. Tommy quickly figured out what she meant and gave her a comforting hug. Jude wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. With each soft sob she let out, Tommy could feel his heart break. They stood together until Jude's sobs subsided. Neither of them wanted to move and Jude made the first movement and reluctantly let her arms fall back to her sides, and took a couple steps back.

"You ok?" Tommy asked her.

"Yeah, I feel better…" She admitted, letting out a sniff. Tommy reached out and dried her eyes. Jude just stared back at him, but did nothing to stop him. They both stared into each other's eyes and it was taking every ounce of restraintment power he possessed not to kiss her. I won't make that impulsive mistake again. Tommy thought, letting an awkward silence fall over the couple.

This is stupid. Jude though, her eyes narrowing. She glanced once more in Tommy's seemingly calm eyes and she knew she could loose herself in their depths. Damn the consequences, she thought and before Tommy could protest to her actions, she captured his lips in hers, putting all of her emotion into that one kiss.

Jude broke away and gave Tommy a smile before leaving him standing wide-eyed in shock in the bathroom. Jude called out as she left the room "You might want to close your mouth before the flies get in!"


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Tommy stood where Jude had left him, gaping at her. His mind was working overtime to process what had just happened. She kissed me. He thought, and shook himself out of his funk.

"Fuck." He muttered, putting an arm against the wall and laying his head on it. All the feelings he had for Jude came rushing back 10 fold.

"This can't be happening, not now…not again…" He said to himself, and let out a frustrated groan.

Jude left the bathroom feeling pretty good about herself. She smirked to herself when she thought of the look on Tommy's face. And then, it hit her. I actually kissed Tommy! She let out a small squeal of delight and stopped, horrified at herself. OMG, I sound like Sadie! Bad Jude, Bad! You just kissed him for god's sake, not like you had sex…Jude thought about that for a second and scolded herself again. Don't think about sex with Tommy! Think Jude, think….but not about that! She frowned to herself. I did it again! I fell for him and his stupid hair and wonderful eyes and…Stop it! Don't think about how great his eyes are! This is not good! Jude thought, What do I say to him? Do I…arg! Why am I worrying about this!

Jude dropped her head to her hands. It's definitely temporary insanity. It always is with us. It was nothing, it meant nothing…we just had one of those damnly romantic moments and nothing can come out of it. OK, that's it. Just play cool, and pretend it didn't happen…I'll just follow his lead…yeah, that's it!

Jude managed to calm herself down with that thought and got up and tried to turn out the stereo. She studied it and tried to find the on button. After a minute or three of searching, she hadn't found it and began to hit random buttons until the music turned on, blaringly loud out of the speakers. Geeze! Jude thought, and frantically began searching for the volume button to turn it down.

Jude was about ready to throw the thing across the room when the music went down to a more tolerable level. Jude glanced behind her and saw Tommy looking very amused and holding the stereo remote in his hand.

"First you almost break my nose, then you nearly make me go deaf…Jude, if you didn't want me around, you could just say it." He said jokingly. Jude glared at him.

"It's not my fault it's so damn complicated."

"That's why they make these," Tommy said, indicating the remote and tossing it into a random corner of the room. Jude continued to glare at him and stopped when she let out a yawn, Jude glanced at a clock she noticed on the wall. It was almost 3:00 am.

"When do we have to be at the studio tomorrow?" Jude asked.

"8. Staff meeting." Tommy answered.

"Damn…" Jude said, and added "Can't we just skip?" Tommy smirked.

"Don't you think that'd look suspicious?"

"Fine. You go." Jude said.

"No way girl. If I'm going to face Georgia, EJ, and Kwest on only…4 hours of sleep, you're going down with me." Jude glared at him.

"Fine." She said, still glaring and Tommy smirked triumphantly back.

"Uh…Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Where am I going to sleep?"

"You can take the bed…" Jude gave him a look "I'll sleep on the couch, I didn't mean it like that!" Tommy said, defensively.

"Uh-hu." Jude stated and argued back "I won't let you sleep on the couch. It's you're house, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Nope. Can't let you do that."

"And why not?"

"Because, it wouldn't be gentlemanly of me to allow you to do that."

"You? A gentleman?"

"Hey! I try!" Tommy defended. Jude gave him a raised eyebrow. "Sometimes." He muttered. Jude continued to stare back at him. Tommy glared at her and they said nothing.

"I'm serious, I'm not kicking you out of your bed."

"And I won't let you sleep on the couch, the floor, or any of the similar." Jude glared at him.

"Fine." She said, and Tommy smiled. "But only because I'm too tried to keep up this argument."

"Duly noted." Tommy stated and led Jude into the bedroom.

Oh man, I'm in Tommy's bedroom! Jude thought, and stayed standing in the center of the room as Tommy crossed it and turned on a light switch on the wall and stepped into, what she thought was, a walk-in closet. Jude glanced around, momentarily surprised how plain it was. Then gain, Tommy spent more time at the studio than his own place. Tommy stepped back out of the closet and handed Jude a pair of sweats.

"Thanks." Jude said. Tommy gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"I have the alarm set for 6:45, so don't be surprised if it goes off." Jude nodded.

"Are you sure we can't skip?" Tommy yawned.

"Stop asking me that. It's starting to sound more and more appealing each time you ask." He said, and grabbed one of the pillows off the bed.

"Night." He called and left the room. Jude sighed and watched him go, slightly disappointed he didn't give her a good night kiss.

Jude shut the bedroom door and pulled off her clothes and stepped into the sweatpants and sweatshirt Tommy gave her. They were too big for her and Jude had to roll the pants up a few inches so she didn't trip over the long hem. She left the sleeves covering her hands and she didn't fail to notice how much it smelt like Tommy.

Jude pushed the thought away and climbed into bed and got herself comfortable. She let out a soft groan. She was surrounded by his scent and she wanted nothing more than to have the real thing beside her. Jude closed her eyes and almost instantly went off to dream land.


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Keepin up the promise in posting the chaps. I have 7 more to go before I catch you guys up to my other readers on a message board. Glad to see everyone's still reading and reviewing! More chaps to come tomorrow! Please review, the reviews make me happy and a happy me equals a lot faster posts, so review!

**Chapter 14**

The shrill beeping of the alarm clock woke Jude from a deep sleep. She reached out blindly and began hitting air. She groaned and opened her eyes and was momentarily confused as to where she was.

"Where…" Then the night before came rushing back to her and Jude snapped on the bedside lamp and studied the clock before she found the off button. She yawned and stretched, thinking about how great she slept and how she really didn't want to leave Tommy's bed. She reluctantly tossed back the comforter and went to go and wake up Tommy. She entered the dark living room and the only light casing into the room was that of the full moon shining through the windows.

She crossed the room and knelt down next to the couch and studied him for a moment. He looked so cute laying on the couch that was a couple inches too short for him and his sleep-ruffled hair. She had never seen him look so peaceful and she catalogued the image in her memory.

"Tommy?" Jude called, hoping he'd be easy to wake up. Of course, the man did nothing, not even a slight stir. Jude sighed. She reached out and gave him a shake "Tommy!" Jude said, slightly harsher. Still nothing. Jude's eyes narrowed as she got up from the floor.

"Fine, I'll just leave you there." She said and left the living and went in search for the bathroom again. After about 5 minutes of searching, she found it and a towel and washcloth so she could take a shower. She locked herself in the bathroom, peeled off Tommy's sweats and jumped in the hot shower.

About 25 minutes later, Jude snapped the water off and got out of the shower and toweled off. She then realized she left her clothes in Tommy's room. She mentally cursed and wrapped the towel around herself, making sure it covered everything, before exiting the bathroom with caution.

She made it safely back to the bedroom she changed into her clothes from the night before, since it was all she had, and went to check on Tommy again. She glanced at the clock in the living room and saw it was a quarter after seven already. She studied her producer and smiled to herself when she got an idea as to how to wake him. She stepped quietly to the couch and pounced on top of him.

She succeeded in waking Tommy; he jumped nearly a foot off the couch and ended up pushing Jude onto the floor with a rather loud thud.

"Jesus Jude! You trying to give me a heart attack?" Tommy asked when he saw her sprawled on the floor.

"Ow…" Jude commented, moving into a sitting position slowly.

"Call it payback." Tommy said, smirking slightly. Jude glared at him.

"it's your own fault! Waking you is like waking the freakin dead." Jude stated, rubbing her shoulder and wincing slightly.

"You ok?" Tommy asked her.

"I think I'll live." Tommy shook his head and let out a yawn.

"What time is it?"

"Like…a quarter after 7…" Jude stated.

"Why didn't you get me up sooner?" Tommy demanded.

"Did you not catch the comment earlier in this conversation?" Jude asked as Tommy stepped over her and began heading down the hall. He stopped short and turned around.

"Wanna be nice and start coffee?"

"Tommy, I've been known to burn water." Jude stated.

"Do I even…" Tommy trailed off, shaking his head. "Fine, we'll stop somewhere on the way to the studio."

"Yay Cappuccino!" Jude stated, and Tommy deadpanned before turning around and leaving her alone. Jude shrugged and wandered into the kitchen, trying to find something to munch on. She didn't get far in her search when her cell phone ringing interrupted her food hunt. She pulled it out of her pocket and stared at the read-out.

"hey Kat." Jude answered, wondering why her friend was calling her this early in the morning.

"Jude, where are you! You're mom is frantic! Jamie has been searching the neighborhood all morning!" Kat said, barely letting Jude get a word in edgewise.

"OH my god! I forgot about Mom!" Jude stated, realizing the panic she probably put everyone in.

"Where the hell are you?" Kat demanded.

"I'm with Tommy…at his place…"

"You didn't! You did! Didn't you!" Kat demanded.

"Whoa, Kat, what are you talking about?"

"Well, we all know you and Tommy have had a thing for each other for.."

"KAT! NO! Nothing like that happened! GOD what kind of girl do you think I am!"

"Well…"

"Don't answer that Kat." Jude said, and ran a hand through her hair. She didn't even think of her mom. She was so panicked last night, she didn't leave a note or think to call. "Kat, nothing happened. I was at home earlier, and there was so guy who broke in, I guess Jamie scared him away and I got freaked and didn't want to stay at home. I called Tommy and I figured we could just talk and such at the studio, but the power went out and…I was just scared Kat. I wasn't thinking that I should have called mom or someone else to let everyone know I'm ok. I'm sorry." Jude said, explaining the night, leaving out the part she kissed Tommy. Kat would never believe nothing happened if she knew that. Kat sighed.

"Yeah, Jamie told your mom that part. He said you kicked him out?"

"Kat, come on. I love Jamie and all…like a friend…but come on, he's not the strong make you feel better kind of guy. I think he'd be as scared as I was if someone broke in while he was around." Jude pointed out.

"I guess you're right." Kat said, with a sigh. "Look, just call your mom and let her know where you are."

"Will do." Jude said.

"Now that that's out of the way…so tell me…are you and Tommy…ya know…together?"

"No, nothing like that happened and it probably won't happen. I did kind of give him a broken nose and I…" Jude trailed off, remembering giving him the kiss in the bathroom.

"You did what? Come on, Dish girl!"

"I kind of kissed him…"

"You don't kind of, you either did or you didn't." Kat pointed out.

"Fine! I did…" Kat squealed in the background. "Don't get excited Kat!"

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, of course. We're both pretending it didn't happen. Mutual unspoken agreement this time it seems." Jude said, feeling slightly sad.

"oooo, Jude, you lobe him!"

"What!"

"Oh come on Jude…I know the symptoms." Jude glared at the phone.

"Look, Kat, I'll talk to you later about that, right now, I have to call mom."

"Just remember Jude, you are legal now…"

"KAT! NO!" Jude said, hanging up the phone on her friend and staring at the phone incredulously.

"Who was that?" Tommy asked, walking into the room and leaning against the counter.

"Kat. I guess Mom called her freaking out." Tommy's eyes widened.

"I didn't even think…"

"Me either." Jude said, and didn't fail to notice the slight look of panic on her face.

"What are you going to tell her?" He asked.

"I can't tell her the truth; she'll freak out if she knew I stayed with you all night…and I'm sure I can't use the 'I was suddenly inspired and went to the studio to work and fell asleep' story, cuz I'm sure she's called Georgia!" Jude let out a groan.

"Sorry to be another bearer of bad news, but we gatta get to the studio." Jude sighed and nodded in agreement. "I guess we'll just have to think of something to tell Georgia and you mother." Tommy stated and Jude looked up at him with a worried expression.

"I'm sorry I got you into this mess." Jude said, and added "And for nearly breaking your nose."

Tommy laughed and gave her a quick hug. "It's ok. It'll be ok. You'll see." Tommy said, feeling anything but ok with the current dilemma. The pair left the penthouse apartment and out to his Viper, dreading the explanations to come.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Hey all, after this last few posts, I will have officially caught you guys up on the story. I'm currently writing chapter 25, and there's probably going to be a total of 27 or 28 chapters depending on how the content falls. :D I'm already planning a sequel to this story, so I hope you all enjoy this! Most likely, there's going to be more later tonight, depending on what my plans are for the day. :D Enjoy! And please review, I love seeing reviews. They make me happy!

**Chapter 15**

Tommy and Jude pulled up to G Major and parked the car. They hurriedly got out and jogged into the building through the back door.

"We're so dead." Jude said, glancing at her watch. It was 8:15 and Georgia was going to be ticked.

"It's been nice knowing ya Girl." Tommy said with a smile. Jude groaned. "Don't worry, it's gonna be my ass in the fryer anyway." Before Jude could comment, they were at the board room and stepped into it. Georgia stopped with what she was saying and everyone watched them as they took their seats.

"Nice of you to join us." Georgia commented. Tommy took a long drink of his coffee and Jude smiled slightly. Georgia gave her a disapproving look and Jude wiped the smile off her face. Georgia went back to talking and Jude stole a glance at Tommy and saw he had a hand covering his mouth to hide a smile. Jude glared at him and turned her attention back to Georgia. It was going to be a long day.

The meeting adjourned and Tommy and Jude tried to sneak out of the boardroom with no luck. Georgia sent them a look that said 'you leave this room, I won't be held responsible what I do to you'. After the staff of G Major cleared out, Tommy and Jude stood, facing Georgia, feeling like young teenagers who had just gotten caught sneaking out.

"Jude, where you last night? And please, I'm not stupid. I didn't fail to notice you and Tommy showed up today together and your car was here long before you were." Georgia stated.

"Georgia, it isn't like that." Tommy started to defend, but Georgia shot him a glare.

"I believe Tom, I was addressing Jude." Tommy quickly clamped up, knowing when it was a loosing battle. "So, Jude?"

"You see Georgia, I was on my way to work this morning, and My car broke down…" Georgia raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And…well, I called the tow truck, and Tommy drove by when the tow got there and offered to give me a ride to work, and we had to wait for the guy to lift up my car and he didn't speak anything but French, probably from Quebec or something, so it took us forever to give him directions to G Major, and then we were already late, but _Tommy_ has to have his morning Starbucks Coffee, so we had to stop, and that's why we're late." Jude said, sounding rather convincing. Tommy stared at Jude, slight admiration on his face.

"Is that true Tom?"

"What? OH, yeah, of course." Tommy said, thinking to himself, yeah, real smooth man. You couldn't be more obvious…stupid!

"OK, You can go Tom." Tommy stared incrediously at Georgia. "Well, if that was your role in it, I guess I can't do anything, and the only thing I have left to ask Jude is why her mother called here in a panic this morning looking for her missing daughter." Georgia stated. Tommy dashed out of the boardroom, afraid he would have to stay longer. Jude glared at his retreating form, how dare he leave me to deal with this!

"So Jude, where were you last night?" Georgia asked.

"God Georgia, I'm 18, I'm a legal adult, I can make my own decisions onto how to spend my evening." Georgia gave her a raised eyebrow. "I went out with…Speiderman. Ya see, they had a gig and their singer was sick, so they asked if I could fill in for him…and it was a late party and I ran into…Renee from school and she let me spend the night because she lived a block away from the gig and it was late, raining, and the drunks were most likely to be out. It was the best thing to do…"

"And you didn't think to notify your mother?" Georgia asked. Jude scoffed.

"It's not like she notices what I do the other 90 of the time. Look, Georgia, it was late. I was tired, and a friend offered me a place to crash…I took the offer and I'm fine. I'll remember to call everyone next time so they can keep tabs on me." Jude said, her voice raising slightly in anger.

"Jude, we were all worried about you."

"I can take care of myself." Jude said, looking away from Georgia's mothering eyes. She didn't want to lie to Georgia. It didn't feel right.

"OK Jude. You're right. But next time, just tell someone where you're going…especially with your roommates, mother, whatever. OK?" Georgia said.

"Yeah." Georgia smiled and gave her a squeeze.

"Now get to work!" Georgia demanded. Jude laughed and left the boardroom and down the hall to the studio.

Meanwhile

Tommy entered the studio, hoping Jude came up with a good excuse for being out all night. As he walked into his studio, Kwest sat in his chair, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Tommy groaned.

"Come on man, you can tell me!"

"There's nothing to tell Kwest." Tommy said, not looking his friend in the eyes.

"OH, come on T! I'm not Georgia! You can tell me!" Kwest was practically bouncing in his seat. "So, did you two…do it…if you know what I mean."

"Depends on what you mean." Tommy stated, deciding to play the game with Kwest.

"You know what I mean, man. So, answer the question."

"A lot of stuff happened last night man, if you know what I mean. You might need to elaborate."

"ooo, Tom's rollin out the big guns! Come on, tell me!" Kwest said, almost pleading.

"Nothing happened…" Tommy said, and muttered "Nothing like that anyway."

"What'd you say?"

"How can Georgia make me feel like I'm 13 again and getting caught sneaking out?" Tommy asked, changing the subject.

"OO, subject change. Something good happened last night…" Kwest said, and put an arm around Tommy's shoulders. "It's ok man, I understand. You don't wanna nail and tell. It's fine with me."

"KWEST! There was no nailing of the sort!"

"Please, Tommy, you don't have to lie to the Kwest." Kwest said, enjoying seeing Tommy squirm. Tommy glared at Kwest and busied himself around the studio.

"Nothing happened man, so get it out of your head."

"I know." Kwest said, and Tommy turned around and looked at him questioningly. "I know the look of someone who just got lucky, and trust me, you haven't got any action in months."

"Why are we talking about my sex life?"

"Because yours is more interesting than mine." Kwest said, like it was obvious.

"What's more interesting?" Jude asked, walking into the room.

"_Nothing!_" Tommy said, and Kwest laughed.

"OOOkay…" Jude said, looking back and forth between the two men. Tommy was looking rather uncomfortable and Kwest was looking smug.

"Kwest is just trying to get his daily juicy gossip. He seems to think we got something to gossip about." Tommy said, glaring at his friend.

"Hey! I'm the kwest, I know all."

"Right, only because you're the biggest gossiper known to man." Tommy stated and Jude nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah, I think he's worst than Sadie."

"I resent that! But come on, something's going on between…"

"OUT!" Tommy said, shoving Kwest out the door and shutting it behind him. Tommy leaned against the door incase Kwest decided he wasn't going to leave and rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.

"What were you guys talking about?" Jude asked.

"You don't wanna know." Tommy stated, moving away from the door. "I think he'll stay quiet, but that won't necessarily stop the rumors from running around rampant." Tommy added, giving Jude an apologetic look.

"It's fine. I gave Georgia a story about Speiderman needing a new singer. I hurried up and called them and they said they'd cover for me." Jude stated, and Tommy nodded.

"We should probably record the songs we fixed yesterday and call it an early day." Tommy said, leaving the plan open for Jude to comment.

"Sounds good." Jude said, and went into the sound booth and recorded her new songs without incident.

After she was finished, she went and rejoined Tommy.

"Do you want me to start working on our Duet tonight? I'm feeling inspired." Jude said and Tommy sighed.

"No, take the night off. Enjoy the day, relax. I'm going to stay for a hour or so and start mixing one of the songs. Georgia will have my head if I don't get at least one done." Tommy said. Jude looked slightly disappointed but nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Jude asked. "It's not right for me to go home when I'm the reason we're both tired…"

"I'm fine." Tommy said, and studied her a moment. "You going to be ok?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks for last night." Tommy gave her a look she couldn't read but Jude thought it looked almost sad.

"That's what I'm here for."

"I thought you were here to make music?"

"That too." Tommy stated, a small smile on his face.

"I missed you Quincy." Jude said, and looked away from him. Tommy wasn't sure what to say to that, but it made his heart skip a beat to know she missed him when he was gone. Tommy gave her a smug smile

"Of course you did!" Jude glared at him and he changed the subject. "If you hear anything else from your stalker…I want you to call me. I don't care if it's even a bad feeling or something. OK?" Tommy said, waiting for her to give him an answer. Jude nodded.

"I'll see ya tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yup. Enjoy your day." Tommy said, sternly. Jude nodded and left the studio. Tommy watched her go and once she was out of sight he let out a sigh and began playing with the beats for Jude's latest song.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: **I want to state again, for the record, I do own the song Two Worlds Collide.

**Chapter 16**

**The next day**

Jude woke up to her phone ringing. She groaned and grabbed her cell of her headboard.

"'lo?"

"Hello Lover." A voice said. Jude bolted up in her bed, fear washing over her.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"Now, Now Jude. You know me. How come you hid from me? I only wanted to show you how a _real_ man takes care of his girl." Jude felt like she was going to hurl.

"I'm not your girl." Jude snapped.

"Don't fight me girl! You're mine. You know that. No other man will touch you but me. You're mine my sweet." The voice soothed and Jude knew she would vomit if she had eaten something that morning.

"Who are you!" Jude demanded again. "A real man would let his girl know who he is."

"Don't make me mad Jude. You don't want to see me mad." The voice said and hung up the phone. Jude stared at her cell phone a moment before disconnecting. She felt s shudder run through her body as her mind trailed back to the conversation. Lover? She was noone's lover and that thought itself scared her. Why did this mystery guy/stalker think of her as a lover? She shuddered again and catalogued the conversation as a 'tell tommy about later' and left her room and headed down the stairs. She had talked to her mother last night about where she was the night before, telling her the same story she told Georgia. She had been reamed at for hours and sent upstairs without dinner, which didn't bother her considering she wasn't hungry anyway and if she really wanted something, she could sneak downstairs later in the night and find something to eat.

As she stepped off the bottom step, the doorbell rang. Jude opened the door and saw no one around. She frowned and stepped onto the porch and scanned the street. She saw no one around and turned back to enter the house and saw a red rose taped to the door with a letter attached with a red string. In a handwriting a calligrapher would envy was wrote on the off-white envelope, Jude.

Jude felt a feeling of dread roll over her. She reached with a shaking hand and pulled the rose off the door, and untied the string so she could read the note. She dropped the rose and opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment, wrote in black ballpoint ink.

_Jude, _

_You are as beautiful as the rose_

_As sweet as this prose_

_You will see one day_

_You are meant to come my way_

_I love you my dear, _

_You'll open your eyes and see_

_You're only one is me_

Jude stared at the letter and felt a chill go through her. She picked up the rose and went inside the house. She tossed the rose into the garbage and pocketed the rose to show to Tommy later. Jude saw the note on the fridge that proclaimed her mother at work and Sadie gone for her classes at the community college (do they even have comm. Colleges in Canada?). Jude sighed and grabbed her guitar and left the house, heading towards the studio.

Jude parked in her usual parking place and entered G Major. EJ Greeted her with enthusiasm.

"OH my god Jude! I got you and Tommy on Behind the Mic for a three-day interview!" EJ Squeeled in delight. "NO way! Behind the Mic! That's like, world wide!" EJ grinned and nodded.

"They want to do an exclusive with you on the first day, Tom the next, and you both together on the last. Of course, you're gonna hafta sing a new song, Tom's going to have to perform a cover, and you both might have to come up with a small something to sing together on the show. I don't want you performing whatever you're duet is called."

"EJ, when is this?" Jude asked.

"Oh, next week." EJ Said, calmly.

"What!"

"They only had the time slots open next week and BtM wants to be the first to have the exclusive on the duet."

"Isn't that kinda sudden?" Jude asked. EJ gave her an annoyed look.

"Puh-leeeaze girl! There is plenty of time. Now get to work on that Duet!" EJ ordered and shoved Jude in the general direction of Studio A. Jude laughed at her PR manager and scurried away before EJ got on her about wardrobe. She entered the studio and found Tommy seated in his usual seat, listening to the latest arrangement of her new song, Push Me, Pull You.

"Hey!" Jude called. Tommy glanced at her and turned the volume down a notch.

"Hey." He greeted, not as enthusiastically and turned his attention back to the song.

"Sounds good." Jude said, sitting down next to him.

"mmm." Tommy answered, not paying complete attention to her.

"Did EJ tell you about Behind the Mic?"

"Mmm Hmm." Tommy said, adjusting a setting on the sound board and the song came to an end. "I think that's one down." He muttered.

"Tommy?"

"Yeah?" Looking like he just realized she was talking to him.

"Did EJ Tell ya about B.t.M?"

"Yeah?" His voice questioning.

"Shouldn't we get something together? We need to be able to say something about the duet…"

Tommy sighed. "I guess you're right." He said, stretching back in his chair and taking another sip from his coffee mug. Jude frowned at him.

"How long have you been here?" She asked.

"Don't ask." Tommy stated, and rolled the chair across the room and pulled a notebook out of the file cabinet they used to write lyrics in and tossed it at Jude.

"I still think we could re-work two worlds.."

"I'm not going to argue. It's you're record, if you want us to do that song, it's fine with me." Tommy said. Jude grinned and flung her arms around him, which required her to half sit in his lap to do so.

The door opened to the studio and Kwest entered the room. Jude leaped away from Tommy and stared nervously at the floor.

"Don't stop on my account…" Kwest said. Tommy glared at his friend and technician.

"What do you want?" Tommy asked.

"Comin to see how the song was going, but if I knew you two were…uh…busy.."

"Kwest!" Tommy snapped, his voice conveying his warning. Kwest smiled at Jude.

"Hey Jude!" He said,and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't you think.."

"Kwest, out!" Tommy said, getting out of his chair and opening the door for him. "We're never going to get any work done with you around."

"Right…work…" Kwest said, and Tommy shoved him out the door again and shut it behind him. "What is up with that guy lately?" Tommy asked, sounding annoyed.

Jude shrugged. "So, who's gonna start?"

"You can." Tommy stated. Jude sighed and thought about how the original Two Worlds Collide started. She sang as she wrote:

"You were sitting across the room

Hangin with your friends

When I first saw you…" Jude trailed off, looking uncertain as to where to go from there.

"What did you feel when you first see him?" Tommy asked, sitting down across from her.

"You were looking so cool

So untouchable.

Then you looked over at me…

And our eyes met for the first time

Oooooooohhhhhh

Your eyes met mine and

I felt the earth shake as two worlds collided for the first time…"

"Good touch." Tommy commented.

"Thanks."Jude said, writing down her inspiration and tossing the notebook to Tommy. Tommy closed his eyes and visualized the place Jude had set up for them. He was sitting across the room, with his friends, shooting the breeze. He then spots a pretty girl across the room…

"You were standing across the room

You were looking kind of sexy

And then your eyes met mine…

And for the first time

I swore I felt the earth shake

As Two worlds Collided…"

"not too shabby." Jude stated, a smirk on her face.

"Eh, whatcha gonna do?" Tommy said and looked thoughtful for a second. "Chorus?"

"Not yet…" Jude said, and Tommy looked confussed.

"We sing together…

When two worlds collide

Everything felt so right…"

"But I knew it to be so wrong" Tommy finished. Jude nodded and sang

"You're a little too old for me…" Tommy's eyes narrowed slightly and countered

"You're too innocent for me…"

"But it didn't seem to matter" They both sang together, and Tommy continued on his own

"I think I fell in love when" Jude caught on and sang with him

"Two worlds collide." They smiled at each other and Jude took the notebook from Tommy and wrote it all down.

"OK, so new verse. Me or you?" Jude asked.

"Keep up the pattern. It's all you girl."

"Hmmm…" Jude said, looking thoughtful.

"You came up to me

And asked for a dance

Hhhhmmmm

It was like floating

I felt I could fly

When two worlds collided

I think it was love…"

Tommy made a face.

"What?" Jude asked, looking annoyed.

"Nothing Dear." Tommy said, looking smug.

"My Friends don't understand

Why I waste my time with you

They speak the truth

When they say

I'm too old for you

But they don't understand

I think I fell in love…

When two worlds collided" Tommy sang and Jude looked impressed.

"Hu."

"What?" Tommy asked. Jude just smiled innocently. "Why do I even bother?" Tommy muttered.

"Big finish?" Jude asked.

"Go for it."

"You could help.."

"But you're doing such a good job…" Jude glared at him.

"It's you're song too!" She pointed out. Tommy sighed.

"Do you want me to write it?" Tommy asked.

"No." Jude said. Tommy looked exasperated.

"But it's not the point!" The door to the studio opened and an intern poked her head in.

"Mr. Quincy?"

"Yes?"

"You're needed in Studio B." The intern left. Jude glared at him.

"Don't think you're getting away with this."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Be right back." Tommy said and left the studio. Jude sighed and sang softly

"ooooo

When two worlds collide

I met youuu

When two worlds collide

I'm with you

Oooooo

When two 


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Jude finished singing and let out a sigh of defeat. She heard a noise and glanced up to see Kwest standing there, a smile on his face.

"I like it. New song?"

"Arg!" Jude answered and added "end of the duet."

"I like it. So, how come you're in the dumps?" Kwest asked, taking Tommy's vacated seat.

"It's just…it's like he doesn't _want_ to do this. He's not as involved as usual. I don't know! It's been like pulling teeth to get him to write this with me."

"Are you still re-working Two Worlds Collide?" Jude nodded and Kwest winced slightly. "You don't know?" Kwest asked, and Jude threw her arms up in exasperation.

"Do I ever when it comes to the mystery that is Tom Quincy?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you…"

"Oh! Come on Kwest! You don't say something like that and not tell me!" Jude pleaded. "You told me about Frozen."

"And look where that got both of us." Jude sighed in defeat. "Jude…"

"No, it's fine. I'll just be kept in the dark…not knowing why"

"Jude, Honey…"

"I just don't understand him! First he's all willing and able, and then he runs at the slightest excuse. He's hot and then he's cold. Arg! Kwest! You have to help me!" Kwest looked at Jude, eyes widened in fear.

"Only to help you understand him better and no word of this gets to Tommy. Got it?" Jude nodded in agreement. "Good." Kwest sighed and looked thoughtful. "Look, Jude, I understand the guy, and I'm not going to make excuses for him. Just keep that in mind." Kwest took a deep breath. "I met Tommy for the first time about a month or two before he left Boyz Attack. I was a new intern under Darius, and Tom's always been a musical genius. I asked him for help a couple of times in the tech room and we became friends. Tom left the band and he dove into writing Frozen. I guess that's where things went from bad to worst for him. You know the rumors from the B.A. break up, so I don't have to fill you in on how the press went crazy with it. Chaz had asked Tommy to come back a few times, but he pretty much told his best friend to go to hell. Strike one, lost his closest friends. He dealt with it any way a musician deals with things. He wrote songs to help with the pain. At the same time, he was too busy to spend time with his wife. They began fighting all the time and Tommy began to spend more and more time at the studio. I swear, there were some weeks when the man didn't leave for days at a time. I suspect that's probably when the drinking started. Strike two."

"I didn't know he was an alcoholic." Jude said, looking incredously.

"Not an alcoholic per-say. He just drank a lot more than he should have, but his life didn't revolve around the bottle. He was sober when he wrote and sang, but it seemed when he wasn't working, he was drinking, which was only probably about 10 of a month." Jude shook her head incrediously. She never would have thought.

"A couple months later, Tommy was asked to do a talk show and he wrote a new song and dedicated it to, who he thought was, the love of his life. During the interview, he sang, for the first and only time, Two Worlds Collide. After the performance, Tommy was backstage and he was served the divorce papers." Jude winced. "Yeah, it wasn't pretty."

"I didn't know…"

"Yeah, that was just the beginning. At least he still had Frozen to keep him busy."

"Then Darius…"

"And that was the icing on the cake."

"Wow."

"Yeah, it wasn't good times. Tommy pretty much turned to the bottle. A few months later, he got his own wake up call and went cold turkey on the alcohol just a couple of months before the Instant Star competition, which he wanted absolutely nothing to do with; but he owed Georgia a favor who had helped him clean up his act and gave him a job doing something he at least liked. You know the story from there." Kwest added.

"Wow." Jude said, her mind processing everything Kwest told her.

"Look, Jude. I know it's not my place to say, but" Kwest broke off when the door opened and Tommy stepped back into the studio. Tommy looked back and forth between Jude and Kwest, suspicion in his eyes, not failing they had clammed up the moment he walked into the room.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"Nope, Just shootin the breeze." Kwest said, with an innocent smile. Tommy's eyes narrowed further in suspicion.

"Right…well, I'll let you two get back to work…" Kwest said, leaving the room. Once Kwest was gone, Tommy turned to Jude.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing. Kwest heard me working on _our_ song, and was commenting." Jude said, kind of telling him the truth. Tommy still didn't look satisfied, but he let the matter drop.

"So, what do you got?" Tommy asked, sitting down in the seat he was in earlier. Jude showed him the end of the song she wrote earlier and they continued working on the duet, arguing about the melody and some lyric adjustments.

"I think we got it." Jude said a couple of hours later.

"I still think we need to…" Tommy trailed off at Jude's glare. "Fine! We'll do it you're way!" Jude smirked triumphantly. "For now." He added, smirking back. Jude just glared at him. "You know, there's only one way we're going to resolve this." Jude looked at him.

"How?"

"We'll record the lyrics to no music." Jude looked at him like he was crazy. "We'll record the melodies separate, three ways. One your way, my way, and a mix between the two and then we'll decide which one is better." Tommy suggested.

"Fine. But mine'll win."

"You wish."

They stood toe-to-tow for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. _I will not kiss her…_ Tommy thought repeatedly. Simultaneously, Jude thought _I will not kiss him. _

They didn't know who started it, but their mouth's connected in passion. Jude wrapped her arms around Tommy's neck and Tommy's hands slid around her waist. Minutes later, they broke apart and stepped hurridly from each other, both short of breath. Tommy ran a hand through his hair and turned to face Jude.

"I think, we need to talk…"

"Yeah" Jude breathed out in agreement, looking as shocked as he felt. "OK…"

They moved back towards each other and kissed again, more passionately this time. They quickly broke apart, quicker than the first, and stood on opposite sides of the room, facing each other.

"So, talking right?" Jude asked, leaning against a file cabnet.

"Jude.."

"Let me guess? It never happened right? We'll damn you Quincy, because it did, and it has and"

"Don't you think I know Jude!" Tommy demanded, interrupting her rant and added "I wasn't going to say that…again…"

"So why did you say it before?"

"Because Jude! You were 16! I was 23! Do you know how that would have looked! How it still looks!"

"I don't care how it looks Tommy." Tommy sighed and ran a hand through his hair once more in irritation.

"This is exactly why I left. Jude, I know how I feel about you, but you"

"You think I just have a school girl crush like every other girl." Jude finished, looking offended.

"No, you're _not_ like every other girl." Jude stared back at Tommy, momentarily confused. "I-" Before Tommy could finish what he was going to say, the door to the studio opened once more and EJ stepped in. "I need to get a lock for that door…" Tommy muttered as EJ looked up from her clipboard. Tommy and Jude stared at her in annoyance.

"Alright you two, we need to review potential interview questions for" EJ looked up at the two and stopped when she saw them. "Did I interrupt something?" She asked.

"NO!" Tommy and Jude said, simultaneously.

"Oh, good." EJ said, and reviewed possibly interview questions with them, but neither were paying any attention; they were both lost in their own thoughts about what was going on between them.


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Alrighty mateys:D After these chapters, you will have officially been caught up. :D After today, I hope to post a chapter every couple of days. :D I hope you all enjoy! I just wrote the first draft of the ending of this fic, so I need to proof read and get it checked by my beta reader. :D I hope you all enjoy this update!

**Chapter 18**

**1 Day before Behind the Mic**

The studio was bustling. It was one day before Jude's interview with B.t.M. and everyone was focused on making it a success. Tommy and Jude had been rehersing their songs, all recording had been placed on hold until after the interviews were over. EJ was constantly interrupting with prospective questions and what should or should not be released, and Georgia was just plain nervous. No word had been said from Darius, which everyone at G Major thought was a blessing in disguise.

Tommy and Jude sat in a private back room, Jude playing her guitar and singing the lyrics to her new song, Push Me, Pull You to make it perfection for tomorrows performance. Jude finished the song and she grinned at Tommy, feeling more than ready.

"I think you're ready girl." Tommy commented.

"It feels good." She agreed, setting her guitar aside. "How's your cover song going?" Jude asked, kind of annoyed that she never actually heard him perform it, or even hear what he was going to sing. She secretly wondered if Tommy himself didn't know and was going to wing it in two days; which she had been told, he had done more than once in the past. Tommy just smiled at her.

"I'm still playing around." He stated, not offering anymore to the conversation.

"Are you coming tomorrow?" Jude asked, anxiously. Tommy smiled at her.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He said, and Jude felt her heart melt.

"Ya know…we've been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to ask you…what were you going to say when EJ ran into the studio the other day?" Jude asked, finally getting up the courage to ask him about it.

"Hu?" Tommy looked confused for a moment and then realization clicked and he waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, it was nothing." He said, obviously avoiding the subject.

"We have to talk some time." Jude pointed out.

"I know. I just figured you had enough to deal with with this interview tomorrow." Tommy said, looking into her eyes. "We're going to have that talk, but I figured let's wait until things calm down a bit; I thought you had enough to think about." He said, honestly and Jude sighed, feeling annoyed that he was avoiding the problem, as always.

"OK…"

"Jude…"

"No, its fine…I get it." Jude said, getting up to leave the room. Tommy jumped up and followed her.

"Jude!" He called, but she didn't stop until EJ jumped in next to her, questioning Jude about her wardrobe for tomorrow and leading her off to some section of the studio Tommy had probably never seen before. Tommy stopped where he was and let out a groan of frustration. He had an idea as to what Jude thought his intentions were and she had it wrong. He walked back into the vacated studio and sat down and placed his head in his hands, trying to figure out how to fix the mess he always seemed to put himself in where Jude was concerned.

"Hey." Tommy started and turned his head over his shoulder and saw Kwest standing in the middle of the room. "What did you do now?" Kwest asked, taking a seat next to his friend, recognizing the look on Tommy's face. It was the same look he always had when he messed up with Jude.

"Why do I always mess things up with her?" Tommy asked, looking at Kwest for help.

"What did you do this time?" Kwest asked. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"It's a long story, but let's just say, I screwed up…again."

"You should do what you do best." Kwest stated.

"Messing up Jude's life…?" Tommy asked, not understanding how that would fix things between him and probably the love of his life.

"Man, how many times does Jude stick it to you in song? You're a musician, and a hell of a songwriter! That seems to be the only thing you don't mess up at. Why not tell her your feelings in song?" Kwest suggested.

"Been there, done that. Look where it got me." Tommy stated. Kwest stared at Tommy pointedly. "You think a song is going to fix things? That's the lamest thing.."

"Didn't you ever pay attention in the romance movies where the guy goes and sings a song to the girl, horribly off key, and the girl falls in love with said guy?"

"And that only works in Hollywood man. Trust me on that one."

"Or maybe only with the right girl." Kwest pointed out. Tommy sighed.

"You think I should write a song? And do what with it?"

"You're going on live, world-wide tele"

"HELL no! Been there, done that, and let me tell you, I will not make that mistake twice in one lifetime." Tommy paused, as if considering the option. "Besides, I can't write a song in less than two days…"

"Yes you can." Kwest said, smirking. Tommy sighed.

"Not a good one." Kwest gave him a look that said otherwise. "I don't know Kwest…"

"Whatever happened to no more holding back?" Kwest asked.

"Don't use my words against me." Tommy warned. Kwest shrugged.

"Think about it." Kwest said, and left Tommy alone in the empty studio. I can't write a song in less than two days and perform it on world wide television. I haven't wrote a song for myself in…years. Tommy thought, and stared at his guitar which was leaning against the wall across from him. Tommy glared at it, as if it was taunting him.

He got out of his chair and began pacing, staring at the guitar, as if daring it to start playing. He let out a sigh and picked it up. He strummed a few notes and stopped. What am I doing? He thought, setting the guitar down, a frown on his face.


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: **I do not own the lyrics to the song, Push Me, Pull You. That belongs to the wonderful writers of the show, So Weird, and I just borrowed the song.

**Chapter 19**

**Behind the Mic**

**Backstage**

**Jude's Dressing room**

Oh my god! I'm going to be interviewed on world wide tv! Jude took a couple of deep breathes to try and attempt to calm her frazzled nerves. She was the last interview of the day, which was scheduled to start in about 10 minutes. Saying she was nervous, is an understatement. She had never felt this nervous before, not even when she was about to perform for the first time in front of a large audience at the Instant Star competition.

"What if I make an idiot of myself." Jude muttered. There was a knock on her door and her heart skipped slightly. It's Tommy, I know it is. He always comes to see me before a big performance. He'll say something really sweet and make me forget about being nervous. It'll all be ok. "Come in." Jude called, and the door opened and EJ poked her head in. Jude felt disappointment rush over her. Where was Tommy? She wondered.

"Jude, they'll be ready for you in 5." EJ said.

"So soon!" Jude squeaked, taking a deep breathe to calm herself. "I'm going to blow this EJ, I know it."

"No you are not! I have worked too hard to have you blow this interview." EJ said, looking devilishly at Jude. "We rehearsed this over and over. You'll be fine." EJ said, a bit harshly. Jude sighed and nodded. It was no use fighting EJ.

"Where's Tommy?" Jude asked.

"He said he couldn't make it. He said for me to tell you you'd be great." She said, sounding annoyed to be the messenger.

"Why didn't he call me?" Jude asked, looking disappointed. EJ Shrugged.

"Is it my job to be his keeper? No." EJ said, sounding annoyed.

"But He ditched me!"

"He said something came up. Jude, you'll be fine." EJ said once again and shoved her out the door.

"I think I'm gonna"

"Do great! Keep telling yourself that."

"OK." Jude said, taking a couple more deep breathes. "OK, I'll be fine…"

"Jude?"

"yeah?"

"Remember to breathe." EJ advised.

"Right." Jude said as a stage manager came up behind Jude and shouted.

"We're ready for Jude Harrison!"

"Coming!" Jude called. EJ wished her good luck and Jude walked out onto the stage when her cue was gave to her. She waved to the inhouse audience and flashed a smile. She crossed to the center of the stage and sat down in an oversized couch when the host made a hand motion for her to do so. She faced John Grant, the front man for B.t.M. for years.

"Welcome to Jude Harrison. The first, and currently only, winner of the Instant Star competition." There was a chorus of cheers from the audience. "Now, Jude. You went from being a normal teenager to a rock celebrity in under 24 hours. How did that feel?"

"Well, it was overwhelming at first. I went to school, thinking it would be the same old thing and the principle had the school band playing the song I sang for the competition and the cheerleaders where doing their routines…it was strange. I wasn't used to having all the attention, but I loved making the music. I still do." Jude answered, relaxing slightly at the easiness of the question.

"I think everyone would have been overwhelmed by the school band." John said, giving her a warm smile.

"Yeah, it was really weird. Things calmed down after the first couple of days, but it's still hectic." Jude said and added "but I wouldn't change a minute of it."

"That's good to here."

"OK Jude. Every girl in the world is envious of you. Now, tell us, how is it working with Tom Quincy?" John asked. Jude smiled. Loaded, but easy question.

"Tommy is a great producer and even better songwriter. He often co-writes some of my songs and helps me if I get a case of writers block. The most annoying thing is, he's a perfectionist when it comes to music. If it's not great, he's not at all happy and he's made me rewrite songs loads of times. It's really annoying, but he's usually right by the time the final product comes along. It's not unusual for us to be in the studio late, recording a song that we had been working on all day."

"A late night with Tommy Q? From what I hear, I don't so many girls would be complaining." There was a chorus of answering cheers from the audience. Jude laughed.

"We're just friends." Jude stated, wondering how true that statement really was.

"The story has it, Tom Quincy left G Major recently and about a year later, returned. Do you know anything about it?"

"That would be between Georgia and Tommy." Jude said, not wanting to discuss Mark Snow. "All I know is that Georgia asked him to return, and he accepted. I'm happy he's back; he's a great friend and an even greater co-writer." John nodded, not too surprised with her answer.

"Now, rumors have it that you and Tommy Q are performing a duet."

"Yes, that is correct."

"Tell us about it." John asked, looking interested.

"Well, I had asked Tommy to do a duet with me because we had wrote songs together in the past and I thought it would be easy for us to write another, that we could sing together for once." Jude explained and added "I kind of always wanted to do a duet with him anyway, so I was thrilled when he said yes."

"What kind of song are you going to be singing with him?" Jude smiled.

"It could be considered a love song…we haven't finished the lyrics and the beats yet. Tommy's being particularly picky to this song and it's been leading to some creative differences, but we'll talk more about later." Jude said, knowing EJ didn't want anything released until the double interview and she would be skinned alive if she talked about the plot of the song.

"Fair enough. Can we ask about what kind of songs are going to be on your next album? Not much has been released to the public, it seems awhile since we've heard anything new from Jude Harrison. I would estimate the time since, would be when Tom Quincy left G Major." John said, insinuating Jude not getting along with her former producer.

"That would be right. There were some creative differences I couldn't get past with the producer who replaced Tommy. He wanted to turn me into something I'm not and, as the song goes, you just can't take the me, out of me. I feel, this album is going to be different from the first and second. I feel that I've grown a lot in the past year as a singer and as a songwriter. There's some more mature lyrics and some great mixing being done, courtesy of Tommy and his crew. I'm really excited about this one."

"That's good Jude. Now, it's rumored that you and Shay are together again? What do you have to say about that?"  
"The rumor is just that. A rumor. Shay and I are over romantically. We have been for two years. We've become friends again recently and he wanted to pursue a further relationship, but I said no. I can't trust him enough to ever be romantically involved. I mean, he cheated on me once, who's to say he won't do it again?" There was a chorus of cheers from the audience and Jude smiled at them. John nodded in agreement.

"Now it's time to poll the audience," John said, "Do we have any questions for Jude?"

All the hands went up. Jude felt floored. _Wow_. John went into the audience and gestured to a boy in the third row.

"What's you name, young man?" John asked.

"Uh…my name's Rick and uh…I'd like to say: I LOVE YOU JUDE! Will you marry me?"

Jude blinked. "Umm…Maybe in a few years."

"You're sweet!" Rick awed, "But, I'm gay, actually. I just wanted to see your reaction."

Jude laughed, then play pouted. "Then were you lying when you said you loved me?"

"No, I do love you. But not in _that_ way."

The audience laughed. Rick smiled and sat down. John found another member, this time, a girl.

"Hi, Jude, I'm Heather and I just wanted to say that I'm a big fan and my question is what was the weirdest thing that happened to you when you were on your first tour?"

"Umm…Speed pulled me into the pool at one of the hotels we were staying at and then announced that he was peeing in the pool. I screamed and we almost got kicked out."

An uncomfortable look crossed John's face for a brief moment, then he went back to being the cheerful TV host.

"Alright, it's time for a short break. When we come back, Jude will be performing her newest hit, Push Me, Pull You, which is going to be released to the radio stations in another week."

The lights went off from the stage and the curtain fell. John reached over and shook Jude's hand.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you Ms. Harrison." Jude smiled back at him.

"Thank you." He stood up and gave her a pat on the back. "Good luck on your performance," and walked off the stage.

Jude got up from her chair, a big grin on her face. She nailed it. She had forgotten to be nervous. Jude walked off the stage, where she was congratulated by EJ. She watched the stage as the stage hand set up the band and her mic stand. Jude pushed through the stagehands who were congratulating her and asking for autographs so she could get her guitar out of the dressing room. She opened the guitar case, checked the tuning and slipped it over her head and walked back outside, ready to perform.

She stood behind the mic and smiled at the in-house band. The curtain rose and the band began to play. Jude smiled to herself. She loved performing. She stared out at the audience. Even though it was small, she could hardly make out the faces staring up at her from the stage lights. She waited for her que and began to sing.

_I don't want a lecture  
I've had enough  
You think you're so tight  
You think you're so tough _

You wanna change my world  
Say that you know best  
Baby look in the mirror, take another guess  
Your nuclear reaction  
A minor distraction  
Your positive is negative  
There's no attraction  
Push me, pull you  
I can see right through you  
Mover, shaker  
Learn to be a giver, not a taker.

You think you're tall as a building  
You're just a little stump  
You think you move like an Earth quake  
But you're just a bump

You wanna change my world  
Say that you know best  
Baby look in the mirror, take another guess  
Your nuclear reaction  
A minor distraction  
Your positive is negative  
There's no attraction  
Push me, pull you  
I can see right through you  
Mover, shaker  
Learn to be a giver, not a taker.

Oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah  
Baby

Push me, pull you  
I can see right through you  
Mover, shaker  
Learn to be a giver not a taker  


_Oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah  
Baby_

Push me, pull you  
I can see right through you  
Mover, shaker  
Learn to be a giver not a taker."

Jude finished the last note, and smiled to the house band. They played awesome. The audience roared with cheers and she turned back to them, taking a small bow. She waved at the fans in the audience and walked off the stage, feeling happier than ever and she couldn't wait to get to the studio and tell Tommy all about the day's performance.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**After the interview, at G Major.**

Jude walked into the studio, a big smile on her face. The interview with B.t.M. had been a major success. She only wished Tommy had been there like he said he would be. As she walked towards studio A, everyone stopped her and gave her congratulations. She couldn't help but feel proud of herself and how the day had gone.

She made it towards to the Studio, determined to give Tommy a piece of her mind for standing her up. She opened the studio door and gaped at what she saw.

Tommy was standing rather close to Megan, the newest producer at G Major. It was obvious he was showing her an adjustment on the soundboard, but did he have to be pressed up against her like he was? Tommy and Megan both looked over when they heard the door open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt…" Jude muttered, and spun around to leave the room.

"Jude!" Tommy yelled, going after her. Jude ran, she didn't want to face him and his lies. She couldn't deal with it right now. It was a great day, and he had to stand her up by hanging over some other woman. She knew he probably didn't have the feelings for her that she had for him, but he could at least have had the decency to let her off easy and not go around romancing other producers behind her back. She didn't stop running until she got to her car. She quickly got in and locked the doors, and sped away, not caring that Tommy had run out of the building and was watching for her in the parking lot. She left G Major, feeling her heart break and tears springing to her eyes.

Tommy stopped running when he saw Jude's car pull out of the parking lot and into the street. Tommy bent over, his hands on his thighs, breathing deep catch his breath. He stood up and ran his hands through his hair. He spun around and kicked the tire of the nearest car, not caring if the car alarm went off on him or not. He walked back into the studio, knowing his chances of making things up to Jude were probably slim to none. As he stepped back into studio A, he leaned against the closed door for a moment, just taking in his losses. Megan looked at him apprehensively.

"Tom?" She inquired, looking at him questioningly. Tommy let out a sigh.

"Did you make the adjustments I asked you to?" He asked, moving from the door. "I think I got it right this time…" Megan said, looking slightly unsure of herself. Tommy walked over to the soundboard, and made a couple slight adjustments.

"That should do it this time." Tommy said, feeling slightly defeated.

"You ready?" Megan asked. Tommy didn't say anything for a minute. It was most likely that Jude would never speak to him again after what she thought she had walked in on. Then again, if he backed out of this song, it could be the last chance he had at telling her how he really felt. Tommy let out a sigh.

"Let's do it." He said, stepping into the recording booth for the first time in nearly a decade. He slipped the headphones over his ears and took a deep breathe. He signaled to Megan he was ready and the melodies he had recorded earlier filled his senses. He bobbed his head slightly, waiting for his cue, his fingers moving slightly, as if playing an invisible guitar. Once he heard his cue, he opened his mouth and sang.


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N: **OK all, because chapter 21 is 7 pages all on its own, I'm just posting this chapter this time. I really liked this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it. Please note, I own the lyrics to Imperfect Man. It is my own song that I wrote specifically for this story. So please, don't try and tell me I copied it from another singer or whatever. If it looks familiar, I honestly can't say that I heard a similar song or seen a similar thing in another story. Thank you and enjoy!

**Chapter 21**

**The Next Day**

**Behind the Mic, backstage**

Tommy sat backstage, letting the make-up artist add some eye-liner around his eyes so they did not become washed out when he went on stage. He hated make up. He always went with the bare minimum when he performed and this woman was getting on his nerves. Once she tried getting him to wear lipstick, he leaped out of the chair and ran from the room, determined to hide from the psycho woman until he had to go onstage. As he snuck through the building, he bumped into Jude.

"Hey, didn't think you'd come." He said, his voice sounding nervous.

"Don't back out on my word, unlike _some _people I know." Tommy winced at the tone she used and hoped she would understand soon enough.

"Sorry about that."

"Yeah, I know. Something came up." She said, bitterly.

"Jude"

"Not now Quincy." She said, sounding hurt. Tommy sighed. "Are you wearing eye-liner?" She inquired.

"Yes, and I would be wearing a lot more than that if I hadn't run from the make up artist." Tommy stated, looking sheepish and glancing behind his shoulder to make sure she didn't try and follow him. Jude bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Don't say anything." Tommy warned. Jude smirked and started laughing, unable to control herself. Tommy just glared at her.

"I think it's cute. Little Tommy Q scared of a little bit of make up." Jude said, forgetting the slip. Tommy glared at her.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" He demanded, annoyed that she brought up his much hated nick name from back in the day.

"Sorry." Jude said, looking sincere. "So, you nervous?" She asked, trying to be polite.

"Nope." Tommy said, with a shrug. Jude stared at him in disbelief. "Girl, I've been here, done that. Nothing new for me." He said, his voice dismissive.

"So, you're not just a bit nervous about the interview?"

"Not about the interview…" he muttered, thinking about the song he had wrote yesterday in the studio.

"Hu?" Tommy just gave her a smile and offered nothing more. EJ came up to the pair and glanced at Tommy.

"You're on in 10." Tommy just nodded.

"Well, I'll let you go…I'm sure you want to see other people. Good luck." Jude said, walking away, leaving Tommy wondering what or who she was referring to. Before he had a chance to think much more on it, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Mr. Quincy!" Tommy deadpanned and glanced behind him to see the make-up artist running towards him. Tommy darted away, determined to avoid the woman at all costs.

5 Minutes Later

Tommy stood behind the stage entrance with Georgia and EJ on either side of him.

"Remember what we discussed Tom?" EJ said, glancing up from her clipboard.

"Yes, mums the word on the duet." EJ smiled at him.

"Good. I guess if you remember that, I won't have to look into a castration." She said, cheerfully. Tommy just stared back at her, not sure how to comment on that. "It's not like you haven't divulged information in the past." She said, and patted him on the shoulder. Georgia whispered something to EJ and the younger girl buzzed away, a determined look on her face.

"You'll do fine Tom." Georgia said knowingly.

"I'm not nervous."

"Uh-hu." Georgia said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "you keep saying that to yourself." She said, and winked at him. Tommy just stared at his boss and friend incredously. "I'm worried more about you going up there than Jude." She said, honestly.

"Why?" Tommy asked, not understanding Georgia's worry.

"You've been in the spotlight a lot longer than she has. You've got more baggage and rumors circulating about you than most of America's Hollywood combined. I'm just afraid they're going to bring up something you don't want to talk about."

"I know how to deal with the press." Tommy said, knowing that on some level, Georgia was right.

"You'll do fine." She said, leading him towards the stage.

"It's not the interview that I'm worried about." Tommy said, speaking honestly. Georgia smiled at him.

"The song's great Tom." She said, and added "Probably the best you've ever wrote."

"Thanks Georgia." Tommy said, still feeling nervous about the upcoming performance.

"Go knock 'em dead." She whispered as Tommy was given his cue by the stage hands to enter the stage.

As Tommy stepped from behind the curtain, there was a chorus of deafening cheers. He couldn't help but flash his trademark smile. He missed this, the fans, the cheers. He made his way to center stage, and John stood up, and they shook hands before taking their seats.

"Wow, now that we're all deaf…" John commented, rubbing his left ear in humor. Tommy laughed and another set of applause that erupted from the crowd. "It's been, what? About 7 years since you've last appeared on our show?" John asked, trying to get a time line started. Tommy looked thoughtful, also trying to figure out how long it had been.

"Honestly? I have no clue, but it sounds about right." Tommy said, with a laugh. John smiled and played a game of catch up before delving into the interview which was fine by him.

"Now, last time we saw you, Boyz Attack just broke up and there were talks of you beginning a solo-album. Whatever happened to that?" John asked, sincerely wondering what had happened to the ex-boy bander turned producer.

"I thought about putting out a solo-album. I even had a couple of songs wrote and ready for recording," Tommy said, purposely leaving out the fact that he had recording said songs and said album was locked in a vault in Darius's office until Jude decided to stick her nose where it didn't belong. "But then I was offered a producing job and I took it originally, thinking it would let the band image die down a little and I could pursue something without the past following me around, but it turned out, I'm a pretty damn good producer and I like being behind the scenes." Tommy said, honestly, choosing his words carefully.

"Now that's the Tom Quincy we all know and love." John said, with a wink to his interviewee. "Now, how did you become involved with Jude Harrison and the Instant Star competition? You didn't even start out at G Major originally."

"No, I wasn't at G Major when I started out. I was at a little no name studio for the first couple of albums I produced. Nothing really came out of the bands so it's not even worth mentioning who they were. Georgia, the manager and owner of G Major, asked me to produce at her studio. I was there about a year when she started talking about doing a singing competition to boost record sales," Tommy explained, trying to think back nearly 4 years earlier. "I can honestly say, I wanted nothing to do with the competition. After Jude won, Georgia came to me and said this girl was it. She needed the best producer there was and she thought we would make a good team. I only accepted to do the first album as a favor to Georgia, and who would have guessed that she was right? We made a great team and are now working on her third album and the infamous duet." Tommy stated, smiling slightly at the early memories of his and Jude's relationship where they were both determined to hate each other.

"So, I take it your fond of your protégé?" John asked, his tone suggestive.

"Don't get me wrong, the girl is a great singer and songwriter; when she was only 15, she had a voice of a seasoned professional; hell, probably even better in some occasions. She's a natural talent, and a good friend. Of course I hold her in high esteem, but don't go and twist my words around either." Tommy said, trying to cover his ass about his and Jude's relationship.

"Funny. Jude said the same thing about being friends yesterday as well." John said, trying to get something else out of Tommy. Tommy knew what he was trying to pull. He wanted Tommy to say something more about their relationship that was controversial and he'd be able to sell the tape to the tape to all the area newscasters and tell the world that Tommy Q was taking advantage of a 16 year old girl. He knew the game, he knew it well. He also knew how to play the game.

"I guess that would be your answer than, hu?" Tommy said, smirking slightly.

"Well Ladies, it looks like you all still have a chance with Tommy Q over here." John said, and the audience let out a chorus of loud cheers. Tommy just looked mildly uncomfortable, remembering the days when he would have laughed and picked a girl out of the audience and that would have been his flavor of the week…or sometimes, even just the next 24 hours.

"So, Tom, we asked Jude yesterday how it was working with you, I guess we should ask the reverse, how it is working with the lovely Jude Harrison." John asked, and Tommy kept himself from strangling the man and the chorus of male cheers that followed from the audience.

"What can I say? Jude's a natural born musician and is as stubborn as a mule. We have our creative differences, but we give a little for the good of the album." Tommy said, not wanting to get into too much detail about his working with Jude. He knew if he said too much, he'd let slip something that could possibly be the headline in the tabloids in the morning.

"Jude called you a perfectionist and you call her a mule." John said, looking amused. "Good to see teamwork that stays realistic." John said, laughing slightly. Tommy shrugged.

"She's right; I'm not denying the fact that I make her stay up all night working on a song because it's not perfect. You can't have a song that is half perfection. It's either nailed or it's not. There's no in-between. If you let it go for too long, then the habit builds and then all the songs are mediocre instead of the great hits that they could be." Tommy said, his voice passionate.

"Good to see you care about your work."

"I've never said I didn't." Tommy said, truthfully.

"Now, Yesterday, Jude said she couldn't delve any information about the duet…now tell us Tom, what is this song about?" Tommy let out a laugh.

"Sorry, can't say anything until tomorrow. My PR manager threatened me backstage earlier today about not saying a word." Tommy said, his voice light with humor.

"That's never stopped you in the past."

"Believe me man, no one messes with EJ." Tommy said, a slight deadpan on his face. "Seriously, it's still not perfected yet, so it would be against my perfectionist ways to divulge any information." Tommy joked, smiling at the groans that came from the audience.

"We can't even get a title?" John asked, looking intrigued.

"I think I could supply that…" Tommy said, pausing for dramatic effect. "The song's called Two Worlds Collide and I will not say anymore about the matter."

"Now, Jude had said yesterday that the song could be considered a love song…"

"No comment." Tommy said, a secretive smile on his face. John gave him a mock glare.

"Well folks, looks like you'll have to tune in tomorrow to hear more about this duet." John said and Tommy laughed. "Now, Tom, how did it feel when the tabloids doubted your vocal ability?"

"Honestly? I had no clue that's what's being said. Anyone at G Major can tell you that I don't pay attention to the tabloid rumors any more. And as a comment to it? Well, I guess I can say I don't blame them. I haven't really sang since Boyz Attack broke apart, unless you count a charity tele-thon a couple years back, and who can really judge off of that? There's always going to be people who don't like you and that's fine. It doesn't bother me; I'm doing the song because I was asked, not to prove anything."

"And you're singing for the closing of today's show?"

"My PR manager wants me to prove something." Tommy said, smiling. John laughed.

"Now, it's been said that you wrote a new song _yesterday_ to perform on today's show?"

"That would be right." Tommy said, still in disbelief himself.

"Talk about cutting it close." John commented, waiting for Tommy to say more about it.

"It felt right at the time. I don't really want to say much about it now…or else it would give away my opening to the song."

"Fair enough." John said, glancing at the notes for any further questions. "Oh, yes…Speaking of Boyz Attack…it's been rumored the band's put the past behind them, so to speak."

"Uh, yeah, you could possibly say that." There was a chorus of cheers from the audience. "Don't be expecting a tour or a greatest hits album or something. We put aside our differences to do the tele-thon I mentioned previously with the help of Jude. We've stayed in contact since but as I said before, don't get excited about a reunion tour or something. It was a one-time only gig." Tommy said, effectively squashing any fan's hope of Boyz Attack getting back together.

"Dully noted. Now, we're going to take a couple questions from the audience and call it a day." John said, looking out to the audience and seeing nearly the whole crowd having their hands raised.

A camera man with a mic picked one of the women in the back. They had her stand and Tommy could barely make her out, but he could tell she was excited to be asking him a question on world-wide tv.

"Mr. Quincy, are you currently seeing anyone?" She asked, sounding like a schoolgirl.

"Currently? No. I hope that will be changing shortly; if I play my cards right." Tommy said, and the woman looked disappointed as well as the whole first row he could make out clear as day. Tommy tried hard not to laugh.

There was a pause between questions as the men with the mic made their way to audience members.

"Mr. Quincy, is there a chance of a solo-album in the near future?" She asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Had you asked me that a couple of years ago, I would have said there was a strong possibility, but now…I don't know. I don't really want it like I did in the past. I wouldn't completely cast aside the idea if it was ever presented to me, but I don't think I would jump at it either. I really like producing and I don't want to give it up any time soon." Tommy answered, not really answering the question he knew, but he wasn't really sure of the answer himself. Part of him knew he still wanted a solo career, but as the time was quickly passing, he found himself wanting it less and he knew eventually the thought would never cross his mind except when brought up.

"OK, We have time for one more question…" John said as another woman stood up with the mic held up to her mouth.

"Mr. Quincy, does your family support you in your career path?" She asked. Tommy sighed. Loaded question.

"Um…wow. Loaded question. I guess you can say at first my family supported me; mostly before the band made it big. Um…I guess they were disappointed I never went to college and 'made something of myself, or not getting a real job' but they don't understand that music is a real job and it makes me happier than sitting in an office with a 9-5 behind the desk…I just can't see myself there. I guess they got more supportive after I got out of the spotlight and started producing, but I still get asked at family gatherings when I'm gonna go out and 'get a real job'." Tommy said, shrugging, trying to leave out a lot of the family arguments and baggage that came with it.

"And that is a wrap. We'll take a short break and Tom will perform his new original song." John said, and the curtain closed so the stage crew could move the desk and chairs and set up the mic for his performance. Tommy and John stood up and shook hands again. "Don't be a stranger Tom." He said, and walked off the stage. Tommy sighed and walked back to where Georgia was standing in the wings.

"Nervous?"

"Could say that."

"You'll do fine." Georgia said.

"Thanks." Tommy said, letting out the breath he'd been holding.

"She'll love it you know."

"You think?"

"I know." Georgia said, and left him alone. Tommy sighed and grabbed his guitar which was leaning up against the wall. He had decided against using the house band earlier that day. He was going on acoustic and he was quickly regretting the decision. He walked back onto the stage and got ready. He could feel the pre-performance rush. The one where you stood, facing the curtain and wondering what the lyrics are you're supposed to sing. He had a mic attached to his head so he could walk around if he chose to, but he didn't think he would. He stood at the mic stand, taking deep breathes with his eyes closed, mentally calming himself. He knew once the crowd began cheering and his fingers began playing, he would feel at home once again. He knew it was where he was most a home; on stage, performing before a screaming audience. It was where he belonged; where he always belonged until he blew it all those years ago.

He was gave the signal the curtain was about to be raised and he signaled back that he was ready. The curtain rose and Tommy was standing alone on the stage. He smiled at the audience as they cheered once again.

"As I said earlier, I wrote this song yesterday, so bear with me. I want to dedicate it to a girl who means the world to me, and I'm afraid she probably doesn't even know it. I call this, Imperfect Man, and I'm terrible at expressing how I feel, so I wrote this; I hope she, and everyone, likes it." Tommy took a deep breathe and played some powerful chords. He heard the crowd cheering and he didn't hear it. All there was him and his guitar, the mic, and the girl in the audience who meant the world again.

"Shit has hit the fan again…

it's the same old argument

with the same old reasons…" Tommy sang, and strummed out some more chords, relaxing as he did so.

"I'm sorry I hurt you…" The melody became softer.

"it seems I always do

though I never try.

I never meant to make you cry.

You see girl

I'm an imperfect man;

I drink too much

I drive too fast

I live on the fast track

I'm a failure

A heart breaker

And still worst, I disappoint you

I run from the truth

I lie too easily

I'm afraid of what I feel,

Though I think you already knew that.

And still worst, I'm afraid of you

Afraid of us

But I love you all the same.

You see girl, I'm an imperfect man…

But I'm still perfection in your eyes." The melody became stronger again.

"You make me stronger

you make me better.

Girl, I'm trying for you.

Please be patient my love;

I'm striving for perfection

But I'm too imperfect

Imperfect for you.

I'm a failure at loving you;

At loving you the way you need." Tommy played a few powercords, leaning away from the mic and gradually made it softer again, scanning the crowd for Jude's red hair. Once he spotted her, he stared in her general direction, hoping she'd see she was the motivation behind the lyrics. Behind the mic.

"I'm an imperfect man

next to a perfect you

I'm sorry I hurt you

I didn't mean to make you cry;

I'm imperfect,

I know that's no excuse

For the words I said the other night…

Ooohhh, Girl

I'm an imperfect man."

The crowd exploded into cheers and applause. Tommy smiled and gave a slight bow. He glanced back at Jude but saw her gone. He felt disappointed and waved once at the crowd and walked behind the stage, the stage hands clapping and cheering him on, but none of them mattered; there was only one person he wanted to see.


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: **Have I told you all that I love you guys (the reviewers)? I mean, honestly. You are all way too kind to me. I love seeing the reviews and though it may take some time before I post again or respond to your emails, I am always deeply touched by all the wonderful compliments I am receiving. Because I was already asked by one reviewer, I figured I'd supply for everyone, the link to the message board this story is also posted in. Currently, after this update anyway, you will be completely caught up with those readers and the updates will go hand-in-hand. :D Seriously though, I love seeing your reviews, they are the light of my day and motivate me to write more. Thanks so much, I don't think I can ever thank you guys enough, for the wonderful compliments!

**Chapter 22**

She had to get out of there. She had no choice but to run. She didn't want to hear about the news of Tommy finding another girl. She didn't need that heartbreak. If he didn't voice it to her, then she could still hope he would wake up and realize the prefect girl has been staring him in the face for three long years. She loved him from day one, she knew it; she thought it was hate at first sight, but she knew now it was never like that with him. She felt tears sting her eyes. Why did he have to do this again? First Sadie, then some other no name chick he met when he was out on guys night, and now, Megan! The newest producer at the studio? The girl had no taste in music and could hardly tell you the difference between modern and oldies rock. She was nothing Tommy needed and he was too blinded by his hormones to see it.

Jude pushed her way out of the auditorium and ran out to her car. She didn't want to see him; not until she got herself in control. She got in her car and drove away, not consciously knowing where she was going. She knew she shouldn't be running away, but she couldn't help it. She could never help her emotions when it came to him.

She pulled up to a stop and got out of her car and sat down on the hood, staring out to the water. It was where Tommy had brought her to fix 24 Hours all those years ago. The same moment she fell in love with her 22 year old producer. She smiled faintly at the memory and then scolded herself. She had to stop thinking about him like that. He wrote that song for someone else. It wasn't for her. She wished it was for her.

She had never heard Tommy sing like that; it was how she always sang, with her heart and never with her mind. His voice was raw with emotion and she wanted to be the one he wrote that song for; but she knew it wasn't possible. Why would Tommy ever get with her? He'd made it clear before they were nothing but a mistake. Nothing but temporary insanity and twisted that knife by going out with her own sister. Jude shuddered at the thought. Her mind trailed back to the week before, where they kissed so passionately in the studio. Her jaw clenched and her hands curled into fists. She let out a scream of a woman scorned and slammed her fist down on the hood of her car. It was never about her. She was delusional to think she had saw love in his eyes that day. She took a deep breathe to calm her frazzled nerves. Her cell phone rang and Tommy's picture greeted her on the screen. She glanced at it and stared at it for a long moment before putting the phone in her pocket. A minute or so later, she had a chime that signaled a text message. She sighed and read it, despite her better judgment.

_Hey_

_G wants us at the studio._

_Where r u? _

_TQ_

Jude sighed and deleted the message. She glanced once more out at the water and got back inside her car. She mentally prepared herself to face Tommy as she started her car and drove back to the studio; Her song, _That Girl_, playing on the radio the whole way.

Jude entered the studio and glanced around. It was party day, just like it was yesterday after her interview. A couple of the staff members stopped her and asked if she knew anything about Tommy's song and why she didn't say anything about it. Jude denied her knowledge and made her way to Georgia's office. She knocked on the door and Georgia's voice called her in.

"Tommy said you wanted us here?" Jude said, acting like nothing was wrong. Georgia motioned for her to take a seat and close the door. Jude did so and sat stiffly before her boss and friend.

"Are you ok Jude?" Georgia asked, looking at her in concern.

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, giving her a false smile. Georgia sighed.

"If you need to talk about anything…anyone, you know you can talk to me, right?" Georgia asked, hoping Jude would say what was bothering for her.

"Yeah, I know." Jude said, knowing she could never tell Georgia her feelings about Tommy to her. How embarrassing would it be to discuss the romantic feelings you have for your producer, to your boss who paired you with said producer and said producer had no similar romantic feelings for his protégé since she is seven years younger than said producer is?

"Good. Now, you two need to rehearse the duet together. EJ decided she wanted you two to sing it tomorrow after the interview." Georgia informed her, and Jude stared at her incrediously.

"But we never…"

"I know."

"But"

"You've both come up with songs and perfected them before a performance, you can do it again." She said, smirking at Jude.

"OK…" Jude said, still not sure that it could be done.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Georgia asked, studying the younger woman before her.

"I'm fine." Jude said, slightly harsher than intended. "Is that it? Because if you want that song tomorrow, we need to rehearse a lot." Jude said, dreading being in the studio all night with Tommy, singing a duet together when he's probably going to be swooning over Megan, who Jude was sure he was going to ask to monitor how things were going. Why can't he have Kwest help out! She wondered as Georgia nodded to her the end of their meeting and Jude left the office, heading towards the studio, where Tommy was not presently at. Jude walked aimlessly around the studio, trying to find her partner. She found him in the kitchen, on the receiving end of a hug from Megan, who he hugged back. Jude looked away when she saw Megan kiss him on the cheek. Jude turned to leave when Megan said, happily "Oh, Hey Jude!"

Jude clenched her jaw. She didn't like want that girl calling her 'hey Jude.' She's always been 'hey Jude' after the Beatles song. She wanted to yell at her dad for naming her that, but she turned around and faced Megan and Tommy who were now about 10 feet away from each other.

"Hi Megan." Jude said, her voice conveying her annoyance.

"Where did you run off to?" Tommy asked her, looking concerned.

"Family emergency." Jude lied.

"Everything ok?" He asked her, not looking totally convinced, but Jude assumed he was trying to be nice and not get personal before his new girlfriend. How considerate? Jude thought bitterly.

"Fine." She said, biting her tongue from saying anything more. "Georgia said we have to rehearse the duet."

"Yeah, EJ got this grand idea for us to perform it for the first time tomorrow, even though I've tried to convince her it's not ready, but then she got all…EJ-ish and told me I will have that song ready for tomorrow." Tommy said, deadpanning slightly. Jude smiled.

"I guess we better get to work." Jude said, and turned to Megan, "See ya around." She said, leaving the room and heading back to Studio A. A moment later, Tommy caught up to her.

Jude entered the studio, and Tommy entered behind her ad closed the door behind him.

"What was all that about?" Tommy asked. Jude turned to him, a glare on her face.

"As if you don't know." She spat at him. Tommy, deciding it was better to not press her for anymore info, took a seat by the soundboard and flipped a couple switches and adjusted a couple of settings. Jude sat down next to him, her arms crossed over her chest. She watched him in annoyance. Tommy noticed her expression out of the corner of his eyes and stopped what he was doing.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, turning his full attention to her.

"Nothing." Jude snapped, wishing he'd just leave her alone to wallow in self pity.

"There's obviously something bothering you, and quite frankly? If it's bothering you, then it's going to effect your singing and what effects your singing effects our song, and I'm not going to waste my efforts to record if we're going to have to record 10 times to get it right." Tommy said, getting annoyed with her attitude.

"I'm fine Tommy." Jude insisted, feeling more annoyed.

"Fine. I'll play it your way." Tommy said, turning his attention back to the soundboard and making more adjustments. After a moment of silence, Jude spoke up.

"When were you going to tell me about Megan?" She asked softly, sounding pained. Tommy looked up at her in confussion, and lifted his coffee mug up to take a drink of it as Jude spoke.

"Well, she is your girlfriend, isn't she?" Tommy, who had been taking a drink of his coffee, promply spit it out, succeeding in choking himself and showering the soundboard with brown liquid. Tommy began coughing from nearly choking on his drink and Jude watched the soundboard as black smoke began to rise from it and no sooner did the smoke begin rising, sparks began flying from it. Jude grabbed Tommy's arm and pulled him away from the soundboard. They stood near the door, staring at the soundboard in stunned silence, except for Tommy's coughing. Jude smacked him lightly on the back.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Peachy," He choked out, and cleared his throat. Before either could say anything else, Georgia and Kwest stormed into the room, well, Kwest more walked and Georgia more stormed, but who was really paying attention?

"What happened in here!" Georgia demanded, as Kwest stepped cautiously over to the soundboard and tried to inspect it.

"It was my fault, Georgia." Jude said, glancing over at Tommy who had seemed to have gained composure, except for the fact his eyes were slightly bloodshot and watering a smidge from his recovery. Georgia glanced at Tommy.

"You ok Tom?" she asked. Tommy coughed slightly and answered "Yeah, fine, just the smoke." He said and went over to see if he could help Kwest salvage the remains of the soundboard.

"Jude?"

"I accidentally knocked over Tommy's coffee mug, I wasn't paying attention…" Jude said, feeling bad over the damage of the soundboard.

"This thing is fried…" Kwest said, his voice conveying a sense of awe, "Why did you have to destroy the main soundboard guys?" Jude looked confussed and Georgia groaned and looked even more pissed.

"All the other boards in the studio run off this one…so since this one is fried…" Tommy stopped trying to explain when he noticed the death look on Georgia's face. "Don't worry Georgia, I'll cover the cost of the damages." Tommy added, knowing what kind of financial strain the studio was in already, despite Jude's great record sales and sold out concerts.

"No Tom, it's fine."

"Don't worry about it…besides, I should have known better." Tommy said, glancing slightly at Jude.

"So this means…?" Jude inquired, still not grasping the gravity of the situation.

"No recording. Period, until we get this fixed." Kwest answered, looking slightly amused.

"Oh." Jude said, realizing how bad this was.

"You two," Georgia said, pointing at Tommy and Jude "Need to come up with something else to perform tomorrow, or perform the duet acoustic. You know EJ will accept no excuses, and neither will I." She added, leaving the room. Kwest glanced nervously at the pair.

"Good luck…" He said, scurrying out of the studio. Tommy sighed.

"Wimp." Tommy muttered, grabbing his guitar which was leaned up against the wall opposite of him. Jude grabbed hers and they left the familiar studio and relocated to the all too familiar Studio C; aka, the closet.

"So, you and Megan…" Jude said, as they closed the door to the small 'studio'.

"Where the hell did you get that idea!" Tommy demanded.

"It was…well…you're not dating?" Jude said, feeling her heart skip a beat at the thought of Tommy still being single.

"Hell no! Don't get me wrong, she's a nice girl and all, but she's too much like Sadie." Tommy shuddered at the thought.

"Oh." Jude said, her mind quickly doing the math. So, if Tommy wasn't dating her, than who was that song for! She wanted to ask him, but Tommy got his business face on and pulled out his guitar.

"Any suggestions?"

"We should do Could Be You." Jude said, pulling her guitar out of the case. Tommy made a face. "What?"

"Not a favorite."

"You helped write it!"

"I know…" Jude looked exasperated.

"What do you think then?" She asked. Tommy shrugged. Jude sighed. This was going to be a long night.


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N: **Real quick, I wanna say, I do not own the lyrics to the song Your Eyes. Again, it belongs to the wonderful writers of Instant Star. I just changed them slightly to fit this fic more. Please don't sue for copy-right infringement. I'm a poor college student; I only have like 1.00 to my name right now, it's not pretty.

**Chapter 23**

**Later that Night**

Tommy and Jude took a break from the closet. They were arguing over what song to use and they were not getting anywhere. Tommy found Kwest in another studio and he joined him to talk.

"She thought I was dating Megan." Tommy said, sounding depressed.

"What gave her that idea?" Kwest asked.

"I don't know! Know what do I do?" Tommy asked, looking as depressed as he sounded.

"What made her believe you and Megan were together? You had to have done something…" Kwest said, staring at Tommy pointedly.

"I didn't do anything…" Tommy trailed off, remembering the other day in the studio when Jude had walked in on him and Megan adjusting the soundboard…ok, that could have looked like more than it was…and then this afternoon when Megan kissed him…Tommy let out a groan. "She thought from that!" Tommy hung his head and ran a hand through his hair. Kwest patted his friend on the back.

"Well, she knows you're not dating now, doesn't she?"

"Like I'd let her think I was dating her!" Tommy said, shuddering slightly. "How do I fix this man?"

"You gatta let her know you love her."

"I've tried!" Tommy said, and sighed once again. "Every time I try, I panic. I don't know what it is about her, but I can't think straight…"

"So get your head together and tell her."

"And how do you suggest I do that!" Tommy demanded.

"You could…"

"I am not singing another song. That's what got me into this mess in the first place." Tommy said, glaring at his friend.

"I was gonna say take her out to dinner and tell her over Italian cruisine, but now that you mention it…" Tommy groaned, and said nothing. "You'll figure something out." Kwest said, getting up and moving to leave.

"Where are you going! You can't leave a friend in need!"

"Yes I can…unlike some people, I don't get paid to hang around the studio for all hours." Kwest said, leaving Tommy alone. Tommy laid his head down on the soundboard and banged it lightly against it.

Tommy glanced up and looked thoughtful for one minute and picked up his cell phone and dialed. He waited impatiently as it rang. When the owner picked up, Tommy said hurriedly

"Don't hang up!" The voice on the other end was annoyed, but didn't hang up. "I need you to do me a favor Andrews…" Tommy added, pausing as the teenager went on a rant about why he would not stoop so low as to help a gimmicky corporate pop has been. "You done now?" There was a pause.

"Yes…what do you want?" Jamie asked Tommy, sounding annoyed. Tommy smiled secretly.

"Good, now here's what I need you to do…"

Tommy and Jude worked continuously for another few hours. Jude yawned, beginning to feel tired from the long day.

"Wanna call it quites?" Tommy asked, watching her concerned.

"No, we have to nail this." Jude insisted, yawning once again.

"I think we got it…we can always rehearse some before we go on tomorrow." Tommy said, trying to get Jude out of the studio and back home.

"Are you sure?" She said, looking uncertain.

"Yeah, besides, I think George the janitor is going to kill us if we stay much later." Tommy said, a smile on his face. Jude laughed.

"OK. See ya tomorrow?" She asked as she put her acoustic away.

"Yup." Tommy said, doing the same with his. They left the studio, locking up behind them. Tommy walked Jude over to her car and waited until she got in and shut the door. Jude started her car and rolled down the window.

"You didn't have to wait." Jude said, feeling touched he felt he needed to stay and make sure she's ok.

"You never know…specially with that stalker of yours." Tommy said, looking concerned.

"Yeah…"

"You haven't heard anything else, right?" Tommy asked, realizing he never bothered to ask earlier in the week. Jude shook her head no. Tommy looked slightly relieved. "Well, be careful, ok?" Tommy said and Jude nodded.

"C-ya tomorrow Quincy." Jude said, shaking her head at him.

"Later, Harrison." Tommy said, turning around and walking around the viper to the drivers side door. He jumped in and started it; Jude pulled out of the parking lot and Tommy watched her go. He then sighed and began putting his plan into action.

Jude pulled in the driveway, turned off her headlights and car. She stepped out, hitting the remote lock.

"Jude!" A voice called. Jude started and spun around. Jamie was running across the street towards her.

"Oh my goodness, Jamie, you scared me!"

"Sorry." Jamie said, coming up next to her. "How've ya been Harrison? Haven't seen ya around lately." He said, watching her reaction.

"I know; I've been busy at the studio, and you've been busy with Kat…"

"Hey, I got a couple new mixes, I wanted to show you them before I gave 'em to Kat." Jude looked at her friend, suspiciously.

"Why would…?"

"Because! You can never be too sure when it comes to your girlfriend, right?" Jamie said, grabbing Jude's arm and pulling her with him to his house.

"Fine, Jamie, but I can't stay up late, I gatta get some sleep before the interview tomorrow."

"Good enough." Jamie said, dragging Jude inside with him.

10 minutes later, Jamie had Jude listen to a few different mixes and showed her about 20 covers he made; none of them that drastically different that she would have thought Kat would hate them.

"Can I go now? Jamie, it's late, I'm tired, and" Jude stopped as she heard music coming from outside, more specifically, a very familiar sounding acoustic guitar. Jude looked at Jamie, confused and ran out of the bedroom and opened the door to see Tommy standing in the middle of the street, next to his Hummer, which he must have traded for the Viper, playing a tune that sounded all too familiar. She was about to say something when Tommy signaled for her to stay silent. She stood on Jamie's porch, watching the man she loved, feeling very embarrassed.

Then, Tommy began singing, very off key…

"If you were drowning in the sea  
I would dive right in and save you  
If you were falling like a star  
I would be right there to catch you.  
if I was dreaming of your kiss  
Would you look right through me?

On the street I'm waiting  
In my heart it's raining

Your eyes are holding up my sky  
Your eyes make me weak, I don't know why  
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth  
I thought my heart was bullet-proof  
Now I'm singing in the street  
And everybody knows I'm into you

If your heart was sadder than a song  
I would still listen  
If your tears fell on me, one by one  
I would see them glisten

On the street I'm waiting  
In my heart it's raining

Your eyes are holding up the sky  
Your eyes make me weak I don't know why  
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth  
I thought my heart was bullet-proof  
Now I'm just singing in the street…

Every single thing you say makes me want to run away  
Sometime's love's a rainy day but life goes on

your eyes are holding up the sky  
Your eyes make me weak, I don't know why  
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth  
I thought my heart was bullet-proof  
But I'm singing in the street  
And everybody knows I'm into you."

Tommy stopped singing and let the guitar rest at his side. Jude just stared at him, shocked that he 1. was standing on the street, singing her song, and secondly, the fact that he totally destroyed the song by singing it off key because he couldn't hit the high notes, came close a couple times though. She then realized it was after midnight and he probably woke up everyone on the block. She began to feel slightly embarrassed through her shock.

"You're making this really difficult, you know. That makes 2 songs in under 24 hours that I have sung for you." Tommy said, walking up the sidewalk to stand before her. Jamie went back inside the house, not wanting to see his best friend get asked out by her producer and ex-boybander. Tommy stopped when he was before her, and glanced nervously at the porch and then back into her surprised eyes. "What I want to say, is, I love you Jude." He said, staring into her green (?) eyes. After Jude failed to say anymore after a few long moments, Tommy stated "This is the part where you either smack me or kiss me." He looked nervous as he said it, but Jude still couldn't process the fact that he just sang a fairly romantic song for her. She shook herself.

"What?" Tommy hung his head. "Tell me I'm not dreaming…" She said, her voice barely audible. Tommy glanced back up at her, his hand brushing her cheek.

"This isn't a dream. And neither is this" He said, and kissed her passionately. Jude was shocked, but quickly returned the kiss, savoring the feel of his lips on hers. Jude's arms wrapped around his neck and Tommy's circled around her waist. They both ended the kiss, but didn't move from their embrace.

"You love me?" Jude asked, looking into his blue eyes and loosing herself in their depths.

"Since you were 15." He said honestly, his eyes softening.

"What!"

"Jude, you were 15. I was lucky they can't arrest you for your thoughts." Tommy said, smiling at her as she blushed slightly, and looked down.

"You started it…" Jude said, glancing shyly into his eyes.

"No, I distinctly remember you kissing me first." Tommy said, his voice playful.

"Yeah, but you touched me first."

"Don't believe everything you read in the tabloids." Tommy murmured, kissing her once again. When they broke apart, Jude stared at the Hummer, for a moment.

"What ever happened to the Hummer? I only saw that thing once." Tommy grinned.

"I had to get it re-upholstered."

"You had a Hummer re-upholstered?"

"Yeah, your sister barfed in it." Tommy said, looking disgusted. "And on my shoes…those were some good shoes until she ruined them…" Jude laughed.

"Why didn't you just have it cleaned?" Tommy look horrified at the thought.

"She _barfed_ in it! You can't get rid of the smell!"

"Remind me again why you dated her?"

"Temporary insanity?" Tommy offered.

"And it took three years to re-upholster the Hummer?"

"No, it took about 18 months. Probably alittle more." Tommy said, looking thoughtful.

"And the other 1.5 years?"

"I had it in storage…I got it back in the summer and then I was using the Viper, and then I left for the states and I wasn't going to bring the Hummer with me…do you even know how much the price of gas is there!" Tommy demanded.

"Sorry I asked." Jude muttered, still incredulous that he had the Hummer re-upholstered. Tommy kissed her once more and backed away a couple steps once they partered. Jude shivered once he was gone, from the loss of his warmth.

"I should go." Tommy said, and added "let you get your beauty sleep and all." Tommy said, smiling at her. Before Jude could retort, her phone chimed to let her know she had a voice mail. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the read out. It read:

_If I can't have u, no 1 can._

Jude shivered and showed Tommy the message. Tommy's eyes darkened as he frowned.

"Who's all here?" Tommy asked, not wanting to leave Jude alone.

"Me and Sadie. Dad's officially moved in with Yvette, and mom's on a business trip." Jude said, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling scared at the thought of being nearly alone when her stalker just threatened her.

"That's it, I'm staying." Tommy proclaimed.

"You can't stay! Sadie will tell"

"I think we can handle Sadie." Tommy said, looking serious. "Besides, I'm not leaving you alone when there is a stalker on the loose. What's Sadie going to do? Talk the guy to death?"

"Jamie can" Tommy scoffed.

"Oh please, like he's any better." Tommy said and Jude glared at him.

"Jamie is my friend."

"Jamie is a wuss." Tommy stated, knowing there was no way she was going to talk him out of this.

"Fine, stay. I don't care…but if Sadie tells mom"

"We'll think of some way to keep Sadie quiet." Tommy said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Fine." Jude said, with a yawn. "You win, I'm not arguing." Tommy smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"I knew you'd see it my way." As they walked towards the Harrison household, Jude glanced up at Tommy.

"So this means we're official?" Tommy sighed.

"I think we should stay on the down-low for a few weeks; let the press have it's fun with the duet before we go public."

"Sounds fine to me." Jude said, unlocking the door. They stepped into the hall, and closed the door behind them. Jude locked the lock and the deadbolt behind them. "I'm not making you sleep on the couch…dirty things have been done on that couch…we desperately need a new one." Tommy stared at her incrediously. "Well, I caught Dad and Yvette making out on the couch…and dad and mom…" Jude shuddered. "Who knows what else has been done on it." Tommy made a face and said nothing.

"Besides, I can hide you in my room and as long as Sadie stays out, you could sneak out the window in the morning and she'll be none the wiser."

"I think she'll notice the Hummer." Tommy whispered as they walked up the stairs to Jude's room.

"She won't." Jude whispered back as she opened the door to her room, thanking the powers that be that she had cleaned it earlier that week so it wasn't the usual disaster area it was normally.

Tommy sat down on the edge of her bed as Jude grabbed a pair of pajamas out of her dresser. She gave him a kiss and left the room to go change, closing the door behind her in case Sadie were to come and check up on her. A few minutes later, Jude returned, dressed in an old, oversized t-shirt and a pair of flannel shorts. She closed the door behind her and locked it before crossing over to the bed and kissing Tommy once more; she loved kissing him, it was addicting.

"We should probably stop while we're ahead." Tommy murmured once they pulled apart.

"You're probably right." Jude said, and yawned once again. Tommy smiled at her and Jude turned off her bedroom light. "Think you can control yourself if I share my bed with you?" Jude asked him, and blushed when she realized what she said. Tommy smiled at her, deciding it was better not to comment. Jude slid under the covers and Tommy stripped down to his boxers and got in the bed next to her. Jude snuggled up to him and lay her head on his chest. Tommy kissed the top of her head once again.

"I love you girl." He said and Jude sighed contently.

"I love you too." She said, and fell asleep, content as could be.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**The Next Morning**

Jude woke up to the sound of someone banging on her door.

"Jude! You up!" Sadie demanded.

"Yeah," She called, and then realized someone was in her bed with her. She quickly glanced up and saw Tommy laying next to her, looking amused. "how long have you been up?" Jude whispered.

"Long enough." Tommy whispered back. Sadie tried the door handle.

"Jude!" Sadie yelled. Tommy and Jude stared at each other wide-eyed. They jumped out of the bed and Tommy hurried to throw his clothes on.

"Hold on a second…" Jude said, her voice still heavy from sleep so it sounded as if she just woke up. Tommy got his pants and shirt and shoes on in record time. He kissed Jude once before he climbed out the window and whispered "I'll meet you outside…" before climbing down out of view. Jude watched him a moment before crossing to her door and unlocking it, Jude greeted by an annoyed looking Sadie.

"Why was your door locked?" Sadie asked, stepping into the room.

"To keep you from waking me up," Jude said, standing with her arms crossed.

"You have your interview today; of course you need me to wake you up." Sadie said, sounding annoyed. "By the way, do you know whose car that is outside?" She asked, pointing to the window.

"Nope." Jude said, her voice slightly strained. Sadie looked at her skeptically. "Now get out so I can get changed." Jude said, shoving her sister out of the room. Sadie left the room, shaking her head. Her sister was up to something, that much was clear. Sadie walked down the stairs and there was a knock on the door. Sadie sighed, figuring it was Jamie or something. She opened the door and was surprised to see Tom Quincy standing there. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Tommy, hi. What are you doing here?" She asked, staring dreamily up at him. Tommy gave her a small smile.

"Hi Sadie. Jude around?" He asked, pretending like he didn't know if Jude was home or not.

"Her car's here."

"Doesn't mean she is." Tommy pointed out, hoping she wasn't suspicious. Sadie sighed, opened the door wider.

"Come in." She said, tiredly and closed the door behind Tommy when he entered the threshold. "How have you been Tommy?" Sadie asked sweetly as toed off his shoes.

"Fine…you?" Tommy asked her, not wanting to be too nice to her; he did not want Sadie to get any ideas.

"Well, ya know…" She said, leaning into him slightly. Tommy cleared his throat and side stepped her.

"So, Jude? Where is she?" Tommy asked. Sadie looked annoyed.

"She's around…what do you want with her?"

"We need to rehearse before today…"

"Oh, she just woke up; she's running late." Sadie said, smiling at Tommy. Don't I know it…Tommy thought, mentally shaking himself.

"Tommy, what are doing here?" Jude asked, walking down the stairs. The two glanced at each other and it took Jude everything she had not to run up and kiss him right there. Sadie glanced back and forth between the two, looking suspiciously at them.

"Georgia wants us at the studio before we go on today." Tommy said, lying through his teeth.

"OK, I'm running late," Jude said, not at all ready to leave the house.

"So Sadie tells me."

"Oh, take your time Jude, I'll keep Tommy entertained." Sadie said, sweetly. Tommy deadpanned and gave Jude the 'help me' look. Jude smiled sweetly at Sadie.

"Thanks sis." She said, going back up the stairs. Tommy kept staring at Jude's retreating form, looking slightly annoyed. Sadie turned her attention back to Tommy and he wiped the look of his face quickly, flashing Sadie a smile. I'm gonna kill her for doing this to me…Tommy thought as Sadie grabbed his arm and lead him into the living room.


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: **Sorry people that it's been so long, but I was busy studying for finals. After these posts, there will be only one more chapter and then this story will be complete and onto the sequel:D I hope you all enjoy this post, and I have to say, I hope my work calls and says I don't hafta go in…it's snowing like a mother outside, already 4 inches and it's not letting up any time soon! Enjoy the chapters! More to come later this week.

**Chapter 25**

**Later that day**

**Behind the Mic; back stage**

Tommy and Jude were standing around, talking before they were about to go on.

"I can't believe you left me with her." Tommy said, shuddering at the memory of the morning. Jude grinned.

"What was I supposed to say? Hands off my producer?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah! That would have been nice." Tommy said, shuddering again. Jude smiled at him and laughed.

"Ya know…we could…"

"Go find an empty closet?" Tommy offered, looking slightly hopeful.

"Not was what I was going to say, but that works." Jude said, smiling cheekily at Tommy. Tommy grinned but didn't make a motion to move.

"We need to rehearse."

"We'll rehearse…" Jude said, smiling coyly.

"I don't think there'll be much singing…"

"Oh, there will be." Jude said, grinning wider. Tommy glared mockingly at her and EJ jumped up behind them.

"OK you two, you about ready?" She asked. The pair nodded, and EJ studied them. "Good. You better not mess up." She said, walking away.

"She's so comforting." Tommy commented, watching her yell at a stage hand for getting in her way. Jude nodded in agreement. They both got up from the bench they were seated on and made their way to the stage entrance. Tommy leaned over and whispered in Jude's ear "you don't know how much I want to kiss you." Jude whispered back "about as much as I want to kiss you." They smiled secretly at each other and Kwest came between them and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.

"So?"

"So what?" Tommy asked, annoyed that Kwest chose this moment to come between him and Jude.

"Don't play dumb man!" Kwest said, looking back and forth between Tommy and Jude. Tommy looked around Kwest at Jude.

"You know what he's raving about?" He asked her, and winked at her so Kwest couldn't see.

"No clue. Ravings of a mad man?" She offered, patting Kwest lightly on the arm.

"Cold man, real cold. Least you can do is tell me…"

"Tell him what?" Georgia asked, crossing her arms while observing the trio.

"About the song." Tommy lied, mentally berating himself for lying again. He was determined to put an end to all the lies. Georgia looked like she believed him and didn't say much else.

"You guys ready to go on?" Georgia asked. Tommy and Jude both nodded. "Good. You're on in 5." She said, and wished them good luck before going off to do whatever it was that Georgia does. Kwest left the pair alone, knowing he needed to get the portable soundboard ready for later. Tommy and Jude glanced at one another, both having nothing but love in their eyes. Tommy took Jude's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You nervous?" He asked her. Jude shook her head.

"Not with you here." She said, and smiled at him. Tommy smiled back at her and it took everything he had not to kiss her right there. They were gave their cue and both stepped out onto the stage, Tommy and Jude still holding hands. The crowd cheered the two stars on as they made their way back to the center stage and sat down in the two chairs pulled up to the desk.

"Welcome Back, Tom Quincy and Jude Harrison." John said, shaking Tommy's hand and nodding to Jude who nodded back. The trio waited impatiently for the cheers to die down. Once they quieted, some girl yelled out "Marry me Tommy Q!" Tommy just shook his head in amusement but didn't dignify the comment with a response. Jude glared at him but said nothing. Tommy just gave her a shrug with a look that said 'whatcha gonna do?'

"Alright, first I want to say, We got some emails last night in regards to the title of the duet." Tommy and Jude looked surprised. "Some of them were fans of Boyz Attack who could have sworn that title sounded vaguely familiar." Jude glanced over at Tommy who shifted rather uncomfortably in his seat. "So, we did some digging, and came up with the following video." Jude saw Tommy pale considerably and she took his hand and gave it a squeeze, knowing what was coming as well as Tommy did. Tommy stared in the general direction as the projection screen. He didn't have to see the clip to remember it. He felt Jude's had slip under his and she gave him a squeeze of re-assurance. Tommy glanced over at her and gave her a look of thanks and the clip started, and Jude was mildly surprised to see how young Tommy looked about six years prior.

On the clip, Tommy was being introduced for the original Two Worlds Collide song. The melodies were softer than what Tommy had suggested for their version. It was like listening to a lullaby and she could tell he put his heart into the song. She studied the younger Tom Quincy for a moment; his hair was a bit longer than it was now, pieces falling into his blue eyes, making him even sexier than he already was. Note to self, have Tommy grow his hair back out. She was mesmerized by the song and she knew it could have became an instant hit if he would have gotten over the pain associated with the song and recorded it. The B.t.M. staff only played a 10 second clip, but she knew it lasted longer than 10 seconds for Tommy. He seemed to have pulled himself together while the clip played and he sat straight in the seat, a stoic expression on his face, but Jude knew he wasn't alright. She had learned how to read Tommy Q and she could tell when he was freaking out, she should know. John turned to Tommy to get a statement. Tommy cleared his throat and shrugged.

"What can I say, Jude found the lyrics to an old original and liked it; she came up with the idea to re-vamp it and I let her." Tommy said, sounding indifferent

"I thought the lyrics worked for us…I didn't know Tommy had sang it originally." Jude said, playing dumb, she wasn't supposed to know the history involved with the song. John nodded, and paused for a moment. Jude noticed Tommy got slightly fidgety during the pause.

"We'll all be looking forward to hearing it." John said, glancing back to his notes. Jude let out a humorless laugh.

"Yeah, funny story with that…we had some technical difficulties yesterday at the studio and were unable to record. Unfortunately, we cannot perform Two Worlds until the sound equipment gets repaired. Tommy and I worked on another song to perform instead." Jude explained, looking sheepishly at Tommy who said nothing in response.

"The suspense on this song is gonna kill us all! It's worst than wondering if Mulder and Scully were ever going to get together!" John exclaimed jokingly, and different members of the audience laughed and Jude smiled. The interview continued with no further incident. Jude could tell Tommy wasn't completely focused on it; his mind was too busy repressing old memories brought to the surface; memories he probably never wanted to relive again. Jude could understand that, she would feel the same way if her parent's divorce were ever brought up in an interview, thankfully, it only appeared once and she quickly avoided the question. All in all, it was a great interview and they ended it with a remixed version of It Could Be You; Tommy and Jude had played rock-paper-scissors for an hour to decide who would choose the song to perform and Jude had one by a landslide. After they left the stage, Jude pulled Tommy aside.

"You ok?" She asked him, knowing full well he wasn't.

"I'll live." Tommy said with a sigh. "I just wasn't expecting _that_ of all things to be brought up." Tommy sighed once again. "I guess you probably want the full story?" Jude shook her head.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She said, not really worried since she already knew, courtesy of Kwest. Tommy nodded.

"Not here. I'll tell you later." Tommy said and Jude smiled in understanding. Tommy added in a hushed voice "Let's get out of here, I haven't been able to kiss you in hours and I think I'm going through withdrawals…" Jude giggled and grabbed his hand and pulled him into a supply closet.

"Hu, a closet…haven't been in one of these since…" Tommy stopped short when Jude jabbed him in the side. She pulled him closer to her by the lapels of his jacket.

"Are you gonna keep talking? Or are you going to shut up and kiss me?" Jude asked, a coy smile on her face. Tommy kissed her long and hard. They broke apart a few moments later. "You drive a hard bargain." Tommy said, kissing her again. Jude smiled against his lips and granted his tongue access into her mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their session was getting rather heated when the door to the closet opened. Neither of them noticed until they heard a throat being cleared. Jude and Tommy turned their heads towards the door and saw the janitor looking at them disapprovingly.

"You folks get lost?" The Janitor asked, looking annoyed.

"Sorry…" Jude said, jumping out of the closet her face red in embarrassment, and Tommy come out behind her, looking highly amused. The couple left the janitor to his businesses and once they turned the corner, Tommy started laughing. Jude smacked him on the arm. "That was not funny!"

"Yes it was…" Tommy said, still laughing good-heartedly.

"It was embarrassing!"

"Like you've never been caught making out in a closet before." Upon Jude's look, Tommy knew that was her first time getting caught making out in a closet. Before Jude could retort, Kwest came running up to them.

"Tommy, Jude!"

They stopped walking and let Kwest catch up.

"Georgia has called a celebratory party at Kavann's tonight." Kwest said, looking back and forth between Tommy and Jude.

"The club?" Jude asked, surprised the G Major staff would be partying there of all places.

"Yeah." Kwest said, looking excited. "Georgia has asked me to spread the word, so, see you guys later?"

"We'll be there." Tommy said, and glanced over at Jude. "As long as it's not karaoke night."

"Oh come on! We so hafta go!" Jude said, grinning at Tommy. Tommy just made a face but shrugged in response. Kwest smiled at his friends.

"See ya later!" He called, dashing away down the hall to find the rest of the G Major staff. Tommy and Jude walked out into the empty parking lot and stopped when they got to their cars, which were parked next to each other.

"Want me to pick you up tonight?" Tommy asked her, pulling his keys out of his pocket. Jude nodded and gave Tommy a peck on the lips.

"See ya later!" She called, jumping into her car. Tommy glared mockingly back at her and got into the Viper. Both singers went their separate ways, waiting for that evening to come.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Later that Night**

**Kavann's**

Tommy and Jude entered Kavann's, and walked through the crowd to the G Major staff table which was located in the back of the karaoke bar/club. They were offered congratulations by nearly all the staff as they took their seats by Kwest and his girlfriend, Monica Bynes. Jude muttered to Tommy.

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend…"

"Yeah, they've been on-again off-again for the last few years. Apparently, they're on again." Tommy muttered, and greeted Kwest with a complicated handshake and said to Monica "Good to see you again Monica." He then indicated Jude and introduced "Monica Bynes, Jude Harrison."

Monica and Jude both shook hands and everyone took their seats.

"I saw you on Behind the Mic this week Jude, you were great." Monica said, grinning at the younger woman.

"Thanks." Jude said, studying her. She was of Mexican nationality and her lack of accent was surprising to Jude. She had long waist long black hair that shone in the light. She was sophisticated looking in her black pants and purple tank top and wore just a little bit of black eye liner under her big doe brown eyes. Kwest and Monica made a great couple, they looked good together and she could tell they were both happy.

"Hey Tom, you already missed one really bad Boyz Attack song." Kwest informed Tommy. Tommy groaned.

"It's Karaoke night?" Kwest nodded and Jude brightened.

"Oh come on Tommy! It'll be fun!" Jude said, grinning at him. She glanced over at the stage and saw there was no one up singing at the moment. "We should go up there!"

"Hell no! I have to be drunk to sing karaoke and I have no intentions on drinking tonight." Tommy declared. Jude looked disappointed and watched as someone got up on the stage. Jude couldn't see the title on the large TV from where she sat, but she recongnized the song that was playing…Pick Up The Pieces and apparently, Tommy recognized it to, because he turned to Kwest and stated "Maybe I need to re-think my drinking stance…" Jude elbowed him as the girl began singing, horribly off key. Jude even thought Sadie could sing better than that chick. Tommy cringed and lowered himself in his seat.

"Oh come on Tommy! If we sing, we'll be lessening the chances of hearing people like that ruining perfectly ok songs…" Jude said, trying to convince Tommy to sing with her.

"You can go sing. I'll stay back here and cheer you on." Tommy said, grinning at her. Jude glared at him and looked to Kwest for help.

"Come on Kwest, tell him he needs to sing."

"I'm not getting in the middle of this." Kwest said, turning to Monica and continuing his conversation. Jude glared at him.

"I don't want to sing, because then I'll draw more attention to myself than I already do, and I would much rather spend my evening with you than beating off girls all night." Tommy said honestly, tilting his head to indicate a group of girls about Sadie's age who were eyeing Tommy like he was a piece of meat. Before Jude could say anything else, EJ came over and grabbed Jude's arm, pulling her away from Tommy saying there were some people she wanted her to meet.

"So, Tommy…you and Jude…?" Kwest asked, looking interested. Tommy just smiled and said nothing. "So that means…?"

"Make your own interpretation." He said, getting out of his seat and looked at Kwest and Monica, tilting his head slightly in the direction of the bar. "You guys want anything?" Kwest and Monica shook their heads no and Tommy headed over to get drinks for him and Jude, a coke and a diet, for Jude, with no ice. He paid for the drinks and shoved his way through the crowd and over to where EJ had dragged his girlfriend to a group of record executives that looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey," Tommy greeted Jude, handing her the diet coke he got for her. Jude took it and smiled her thanks before turning back to the conversation. Tommy half paid attention and scoped the crowd which was too busy cheering on the next singer to get on the stage, sipping his coke.

"Tommy?"

"What?" Tommy said, turning his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"We were just saying, you've done some great work on Jude's other albums." An older man said, probably in his late forties.

"Thank you." Tommy said, wrapping his arm around Jude's shoulders. "But, credit goes to Jude too. She's a natural." Jude smiled at the compliment and the men nodded. EJ continued to chat and Tommy bent lower and whispered into Jude's ear "Wanna sneak away now while we can?" Jude shot him a look. "I didn't mean that!"

"Uh-hu." Jude said skeptically. Tommy mock glared at her and held out his hand.

"Would you like to dance, Ms. Harrison?"

"I can't dance, you know that." Jude said, smiling at Tommy.

"Hello? Ex-boybander! I can't dance either!" Jude laughed and took his and. Tommy beamed at her and pulled her towards the dance floor. They danced together for a couple of songs and Kwest and Monica joined them. Jude didn't care that she couldn't dance, she was having too much fun laughing at Kwest and Tommy to care about herself. A few songs later, the group went back to the table, laughing about a guy on the floor who they dubbed 'white shirt' who was dancing rather obnoxiously around the floor. They all sat down again and ordered non-alcoholic drinks from the waitress. Once they got their drinks, Jude took a long drink and turned to Tommy.

"Come on, we have to go sing!"

"I boycott singing for the night." Tommy stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If you don't go sing with me, I'll go up there and announce to everyone the exact location of where you're sitting and your phone number, address…"

"You wouldn't." Tommy said, smirking at her.

"Oh, I would." Jude said, smiling evilly.

"We sang together earlier! Why are so hung up on singing now?"

"Because! We can go up and sing something we didn't write!" Tommy just stared at her, confused.

"You want to go up there and ruin a perfectly good song?"

"No! I wanna go up there and have fun!" Tommy just stared at her like she was crazy.

"You might as well do it Tom…you know she'll never give up." Kwest stated, laughing at his friend.

"Besides, if you two go and sing, we won't be tortured by the drunks…" Monica said, smiling good-heartedly at the couple.

"If I go up there and sing, Kwest does, with Monica." Tommy said, smirking.

"Oh, Hell no!" Kwest stated, looking at Tommy like he was on drugs for mentioning it.

"Come on guys!" Jude said, looking exasperated. Neither made a move to get up. "Fine, I'll go by myself." Jude said, standing up, and glaring at Tommy. "I will get you up on that stage." Jude said to him and stalked across the room to the karaoke host and put in her song.

Tommy watched her and once the person who was done walked off, Jude grabbed the mic and there was a chorus of cheers from the crowd who recognized their beloved singer and instant star winner. Jude smiled at them and Jude began to sing Stupid Girl by Garbage. Everyone in the bar cheered her on.

"That girl has talent." Monica said, watching the younger woman sing on the stage.

"Yeah she does." Kwest agreed. Tommy shook his head in negativity. Monica and Kwest stared at him, wondering why he didn't think so.

"It's not talent; it's a gift." Tommy said, never taking his eyes off of her. Kwest and Monica smiled knowingly at each other and turned their attention back to Jude. Once Jude finished the song, she was surrounded by fans, all asking for her autograph. She politely declined, and eventually made her way back to the table, a beaming smile on her face.

"That was fun." She said, sitting back in her seat and stared pointedly at Tommy.

"Maybe later." He said and Jude hugged him. Tommy looked less than thrilled, but he couldn't help but smile at her energy.


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N: **After this chapter, there is only one more to go and this part of the fic is done. I'm going to be continuing this in a sequel called Shattered Reality, so check it out once I post it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I have to stress, the chapter rating of this needs to raise a level. It's slightly more adult themed than the rest of the story and I don't recommend it for the young-ins. You have been warned. Enjoy

**Chapter 27**

**Later that night**

Kavann's was bursting with people. About half way through the night, all the girls in the building had recognized Tommy and was currently swarming him. Jude had went off to the restroom, leaving him to beat off the girls who were throwing themselves at his feet. She trusted Tommy enough to know he would turn them down, or at least, she hoped he would. She almost made it to the restroom, when she felt someone grab her arm. She gasped and spun around. She felt slightly better when she saw the person who was there was her ex-producer, Marc Snow.

"Marc, hi." Jude said, confused as to why he was there.

"Hi Jude. I saw you sing, and I thought I'd say hi." He said, smiling sweetly at her.

"Thanks. Um, how have you been?" Jude asked politely, glancing at the crowd behind him to see if someone from G Major was around who could rescue her. No one was in sight.

"I've been good." Marc said, and he grabbed Jude's arm, and his fingers trailed down it, almost like a lover, and massaged her fingers once his touched hers.

"Marc, what are you doing?" She asked, feeling panic grip her and tore her arm away from his in alarm.

"You're supposed to be mine Jude." He said, and something about his eyes made Jude spin around and walk hurriedly away from him. _I'll find Tommy, and I'll be ok. I just have to get _She felt his hands on her arm and she pulled it roughly away from him.

"Don't touch me." She said, the threat evident in her voice.

"Now now Jude." Marc purred to her, and slid an arm around her waist. Jude tried to struggle away from him, but he held her fast. Marc kissed her forcibly, and she could taste the alcohol on him and it made her sick. Not just the fact the man was drinking, but because he thought she was his possession. She was no one's possession. Not even Tommy's. She struggled to get away, but he held her fast. She felt his tongue brush her closed lips, and she thought she was going to hurl. He broke away from her, and his eyes were glazed from alcohol and the drunken high.

"Marc, you're drunk." Jude said, feeling her heart pound and the fear nearly consumed her.

"No…no Jude." He said, petting her hair. He grabbed her roughly and led her through the club and towards the back door.

"Marc, let me go!" Jude said, struggling against him. He grabbed her wrist tighter and Jude thought she'd end up with a bruise. He pulled her out the door and into the alleyway that ran beside the club. "Marc, Marc, I need to go" She was cut off by him kissing her once again. He took full advantage of her open mouth and plunged his tongue into her, and Jude bit down hard, in an attempt to make him stop. He pulled back in rage and smacked her across the face. Jude's vision blurred and she fell to the pavement, black dots dancing before her eyes.

"You like it rough girl? I'll give you rough." He said, coming back to her. He knelt down on top of her, and Jude beat on his chest with her fists, but her efforts were in vain. He grabbed her hands, tightly in one arm and hit her again with the other so hard he knocked the wind out of her. Her struggling ceased as she tried to recover. He ripped the front of her shirt open and undid the belt on her jeans. Jude got her bearings and struggled once again. He hit her once again and Jude blacked out for a moment from the force of the blow. When she regained consciousness, Marc was kissing her again, and she was acutely aware of the cold air that surrounded her; and her lack of shirt and jeans. She struggled again and shoved him roughly away. Marc advanced towards her, pulled her up and shoved her into the brick wall behind her. Jude let out a cry of pain and closed her eyes, tears beginning to fill up. She let out a sob and Marc's arms were ripped away from her. She collapsed to the ground, not knowing what was going on, but relieved to have the man gone from her. She pulled her legs to her chest and put her head on her knees and rocked herself while sobbing quietly.

Moments later, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she began flailing her arms in fear. "No!" She screamed, as hands tried to grab her arms. She was too afraid to look, didn't want to look in the eyes of the man who was about to rape her.

"Jude," A voice said, soft and comforting. She stopped struggling and opened her eyes, her vision was blurry from tears, but she knew who was before her. She flung her arms around Tommy's neck and buried her face in his chest and cried. His arms wrapped around her and he held her to him, stroking her hair and whispering words of comfort. Jude's sobs quieted after a couple of minutes and Tommy's arms moved from her and Jude whimpered from the lack of warmth his arms gave her. "Let go Jude." Tommy said, and she realized she was holding his jacket in tight fists. She started shaking and Tommy coaxed her hands off his coat. He quickly slid out of it and wrapped it around her shoulders and Jude pulled her arms through the sleeves and went back to the safety of his arms. She didn't want to leave his embrace because then she knew she would have to face the world; at least here, in Tommy's arms, she was safe.

"Is she ok?" A second voice asked. Jude glanced up and saw Kwest was standing beside Tommy. She buried her head in this chest again, not wanting to face the world, face the questions that would be brought before her.

"No, she's not." Tommy said honestly, turning his attention back to her. He said quietly and coaxingly, like talking to a small child and said "Jude, do you think you can stand up?" She didn't say anything, but pulled him closer, if possible. "I'm not going anywhere Girl, we need to get you out of here, ok? We'll go back to my place, and get you cleaned up, but I need you to get up, ok?" Tommy said, and Jude nodded against him. "OK, we'll do it together, ok? On the count of 3…1…2…3" Tommy and Jude both stood up, rather shakily. Jude continued to hold onto Tommy, which made him almost fall, but Kwest balanced the pair. Tommy gave Kwest a look of thanks. Tommy adjusted himself and picked up Jude, her arms still around his neck, cradle like.

"I'll stay here until the cops get here." Kwest said, glaring at Marc's prone form. Tommy nodded.

"Thanks man."

"I can't believe that scum actually worked at G Major." Kwest said, shaking his head. Tommy looked pained and kissed the top of Jude's head, and carried her out of the alleyway, the police sirens getting closer.


	29. Epilogue

**A/N:** Sorry it's been so long gang, but here it is, the last chapter! I had my wisdom teeth pulled on tuesday and I was miserable for the last couple of days. I honestly wanted to post this before that but I got busy...anywho! Please be on the look out for Shattered Reality, the sequel to Two Worlds Collide. I'm going to post the first chapter for it (which is the epilogue) when I'm done here. I want to thank all my kind reviewers for your awsome encouragement. I love seeing comments and it makes me happy to see them. I hope you all enjoy the ending (though I do know it's evil) and check out the sequel. Thanks again for being awsome readers!

**Epilogue**

_March 21, 2008_

_11:25 am_

_Dear Diary,_

_It's been four months since that night at Kavann's. My therapist tells me I'm doing great; that I don't need her anymore. She suggested I start writing in a diary to help me deal with my emotions and to call her if I need to. I'm beginning to think, maybe she's right. I'm able to get out again without feeling too afraid to. For a month, I wouldn't go anywhere unless Tommy was with me. I was too afraid to leave his sight. _

_He's been good to me through this. I think he feels guilty about Marc. Ya know, he wouldn't have met me if Tommy hadn't left. I don't blame him, not for the incident anyway. I've told him that. I blame that bastard that almost raped me that night in the alleyway. _

_I feel like my life is finally going the way I want it to. Things are back in my control. For so long, things have been moving beyond my grasp. Winning the Instant Star competition, mom and dad's divorce, Dad proclaiming an engagement to Yvette, Tommy and Sadie's sudden relationship…it just never ended. I finally feel like I can be happy and enjoy the next coming months. Tommy and I are going strong and have been dating for an official four months. Tommy had told Georgia about our relationship after that night. He said he couldn't hide the way he felt and he wanted the world to know he was in love with me, Jude Harrison. I smile whenever I see that. To think he would ever be with me is still surreal, but I enjoy every minute of it. Sadie has been amazingly supportive of our relationship. She even argued with Mom about how we belong together and Tommy would never hurt me. I guess she's finally acting like a sister. Jamie and Kat are still together and going strong. They've helped me a lot to get through this and I don't know what I'd do without them as my friends. _

_I had picked up my guitar for the first time since that night in the alley earlier. I played "Skin", and I saw Tommy's eyes get sad. I think he thought I was playing it because of Marc, but I was playing it for me. I needed to get all of the old emotions out of me. I need to move past the past and look to the future…Tommy, and our life together. For me, it was a song of goodbye and throwing away all my old childish thoughts and dreams. It's time for me to move on with my life, and I'm going to take more control. _

_I finally feel like my life is going to turn out ok. I've hit the bottom, and I can only come out on top…or so the law of gravity says. See, I did pay attention in Physics. Kind of…(maybe?) _

The phone rang and Jude set down her pen. She reached over on the coffee table that sat next to Tommy's couch. She picked up her cell phone and hit the talk button, frowning at the unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Harrison?"

"Yes, that's me." Jude said, confused as to who was calling her so late at night.

"I'm with Mercy General Hospital, Ms. Harrison, there's been an accident…"

…_Scratch what I said before. _


End file.
